


It Consumes Me, Too

by Drowned_dreamer



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Curses, Dark!Emma, F/M, Queens of Darkness, dark!Hook, season 4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-25
Updated: 2015-06-04
Packaged: 2018-03-15 01:34:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 69,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3433136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drowned_dreamer/pseuds/Drowned_dreamer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With the reappearance of Gold and the new threat of the Queens of Darkness, Emma uses her magic to ensure her pirate's heart can't be taken again...Well, at least that was the plan. Now, Emma and Killian are magically linked and when the QOD curse Emma with darkness, will their shared bond be enough to bring her back? Or will it doom them both?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing.
> 
> Another multi chapter fic for me, because I really want to write a Dark!Emma, Dark!Hook fic, and I got very inspired by all the spoilers floating about on Tumblr.

Killian looked down at the object in his hands as if he was in a dream. Could it really have been this easy? After centuries of never-ending searching, of practically selling his soul for the slimmest scrap of information, she had just _handed it over_?

The dagger glinted in the light of the small table lamp next to his bed. Its seductively curved shape masked a wickedly sharp edge. He hefted it in his palm, tilting it back and forth to watch how the shadows caught along the name engraved on its surface. _Rumplestiltskin._

Without warning, Killian felt the rising bile in his stomach. With a violent lurch, he threw the cursed blade across the room, landing it on top of his bed. He had always thought that having the dagger in his hand would make him feel powerful, complete, _satisfied._ But the reality was that, now, it made him feel nothing but revulsion. He needed to get rid of it. But first, he had a job to do.

He sat down on the bed, noticeably avoiding the dagger's proximity, and rubbed his aching head. He reviewed the early morning meeting he had attended yesterday with Emma, Belle, and Regina. They had discussed that the fairies needed to be released from the hat, and Killian had reluctantly divulged his role in helping Gold in that act. Afterwards, he could barely look Emma in the eye. His guilt over his actions, which had largely been pushed down in the wake of relief he had felt at having his heart returned, rose up once more to consume him.

So it was quite a shock when Belle had called him that afternoon and asked to meet up with him and Emma that night at a secluded spot just outside the forest border. It was raining when they arrived, an early spring storm that was so prevalent along Maine's coast. Belle met them at the car, her small frame dwarfed by the oversized umbrella she carried. She handed Killian a shovel and without explanation, told Killian to follow her. Emma shrugged in confusion as he got out of the car, but said she would be happy to wait for them where it was warm and dry. He smiled a little at that, but the guilt he was still carrying kept it from feeling genuine.

"What's all this, then?" Killian asked, having to shout to be heard over the pounding rain. He didn't bother trying to protect himself from the storm, having spent far too many long years riding out one typhoon after another on his ship. The rain was cold, running down his jacket and soaking his shirt, but he barely noticed it.

Belle didn't reply, only continued to walk through the forest, her tall boots squelching in the mud. Finally, she spun round, and pointed to a spot bordered by three rocks set apart in a triangle. "Dig," she command, her voice strangely authoritative.

Killian took one glance back at the car where Emma sat and heaved a sigh. He shook his hair back to keep the rain out of his eyes and began to dig. The head lights from the car were the only source of illumination in the forest, and everything quickly got lost in the darkness. How long he shoveled, he didn't know, but just before he decided that this whole thing was beginning to be bloody pointless, the shovel jarred his jarred in his hand with a ringing metallic clink.

Belle crouched down, pointing into the hole. "Can you see it?"

Killian joined her, Belle holding the umbrella over the two of them. He reached in, feeling around in the wet dirt until his hand brushed against something solid, smooth, and freezing cold. "What's this, lass?" He asked, cautiously feeling along the objects edge.

"Rumple's dagger," Belle said with a solemn finality. "I hid it out here after I banished him. You need it to unleash the fairies, right? That's what you said earlier, anyway."

Killian nearly recoiled his hand when he realized what he was touching. Maybe it was the rain and mud, but the object felt particularly slimy to him. Still, he knew Belle was right, they would need the dagger to open the hat.

"Aye," he acknowledged, wrapping his fist around the handle and pulling it out.

Beside him, Belle let out a low sigh and stood up, straightening her dress. He handed the blade over to her as quickly as he could, wondering at his own actions the whole time.

Bracing the umbrella under her arm, she turned the dagger over in her hand, almost lovingly tracing her finger along the engraved name. Killian watched in fascination as her chest heaved a couple times before settling. She tilted her head up at him, and he could see her eye shining like glass. "Here," she said, holding the object out to him, handle first. "Take it, Captain. Go fix this mess Rumple caused."

Killian swallowed hard, his own heart pounding away like a drum. But he held his hand out anyway. As he accepted the charge, that same sickening feeling came over him and it was all he could do to tuck the dagger away into his belt. The last thing he wanted was to keep touching it.

"I-" he stammered, unsure exactly what to say. How could he possibly explain what that dagger represented to him? What her actions meant? How many fruitless years of his life he had wasted questing after the damned thing? And now, all it was to him was a reminder of each and every one of his shortcomings. So he chose instead to nod, letting her know he would do his best.

When he returned to the car, Emma had the heat blasting, clearly dying to know what had occurred between he and Belle. If she suspected what he had dug up, she didn't say, but when Killian pulled out the dagger from his belt and sat it across his lap without a word, she didn't look surprised. As if reading his troubled thoughts, she took hold of his arm, just above his brace, and squeezed with a firm reassuring pressure.

Suddenly, Killian felt the tightness in his chest release. As he caught Emma's eye, he could see the apology and understanding in her look, and it was as if the guilt that had been feeding on him had been eradicated. He offered her a tight smile, and quipped, "Well, it's quite a bit lighter than I'd expected it to be." It didn't quite sound as carefree as he had wanted it to be, but his voice didn't waver, and for that he was thankful.

She smiled back sympathetically, wordlessly acknowledging his need to come to terms with this in his own way. "Yeah, not as shiny as I pictured it, either. I would have expected something a lot flashier for Gold. Maybe a diamond encrusted handle or something," she replied lightly.

And like that, all the tension between them faded away. It was what they did best, easing the pain in each other's lives seamlessly and effortlessly. Once again, they were simply Killian and Emma, all thoughts of missing hearts, daggers, and hats pushed aside. Killian leant over, pecking her softly on the cheek. "Well now, Swan. Looks like I'm going to need someone to help me out of my attire. It can be quite difficult to remove leather when it's _wet_." He waggled his brow in a move he knew she secretly adored.

She rolled her eyes, but continued to smile at him, putting her car in gear and driving them back to his hotel room.

That night, when they came together as they had for the last several nights, it was driven by a need to erase the past, to start over, if only temporarily. And for a few blissful hours, all their shared guilt and shared grief over the past was forgotten in their tight embrace.

….

As it turned out, once they had the dagger, releasing the fairies had been a simple enough task. Emma waved the dagger over the hat, willed her magic to find those trapped inside, and simply _pulled._ In a flash of red light, wind, and intense heat, the hat spewed forth a great volcano of thick, choking smoke. As Regina, Belle, Killian, and Emma watched, the smoke surrounded them briefly, before petering out, dissipating into the atmosphere, leaving only an innocuous looking felt object lying on the ground.

"Is that it?" She asked skeptically, looking to Regina.

Regina raised a brow and shrugged. "I guess, if trying to recreate Pompey was what you were going for," she scoffed. "Well, I don't see the fairies anywhere, Miss Swan."

Behind her Killian growled, but he knew to keep silent and let her fight her own battles with the former Queen. "Maybe it just takes a while," Emma replied, bending down and picking the hat up from the ground. She turned it over in her hands, and Killian had a flash of panic as she peered down into it. "Seems like a regular old hat now. It had to have worked."

"It did," came a voice directly behind the group. Everyone wheeled around at once. Blue was standing on the road with her sister fairies by her side. She was smiling at Emma, but otherwise looked as cool and unruffled as ever. "You freed us."

Emma beamed proudly and Killian couldn't help the little tug his heart made. However, just then he caught Blue's eyes accidently and couldn't mistake the anger he saw there. Blue's expression soured. "What's he doing here?" She pointed to Killian, looking to Emma for answers. "He's the one who put us in there."

Emma crossed her arms and replied, "He didn't. Gold had his heart and commanded him to. It's not his fault." Belle paled a little at her side, but didn't interrupt.

Blue glared back, but seemed mollified by that answer. It still didn't stop her and her sisters from giving him dirty looks, however.

Emma coughed, trying to ease the tension and asked, "Are you all okay? Do you have your magic back?"

Blue nodded and the others did as well. "It would appear so. How long have we been gone?"

"About a month, give or take," Regina supplied frostily.

"And the Snow Queen?" An unknown fairy from the group asked.

With an awkward shuffle, Emma dropped her eyes and said sadly, "Gone. She destroyed the curse herself. She's dead."

Blue's eyes went wide with disbelief and she turned to silently confer with her sisters. "That is great news. I take it, then, that the town has returned to normal."

"As normal as it ever is," Regina mumbled. Emma chuckled a little at that, and Killian felt himself relax slightly as well.

"I suppose there is much yet to be discussed, but for now, my sisters and I need to rest. The return of our magic has left us feeling a bit out of sorts. It's really good to be out of that hat," Blue sighed. Without warning, she and the others vanished from the street.

"Well," Emma said grumpily, "so much for that, ladies. I guess we'll see you around."

Killian slipped his arm around her waist and whispered in her ear. "Good job, Swan. Don't let a few prudish fairies ruffle you, love, you were as amazing as always. What say we celebrate your victory at Granny's? I'll even treat you to that cocoa drink you are so fond of, although, I'm feeling a need of something a bit stronger meself." He rocked his hips into her as he pulled her close to him. "After, I'll let you try to beat me at a game of darts, if you wish." He pushed a strand of her long hair back behind her ear and smirked.

Emma sidled into him and gave him a shark-like smile. "You're on, pirate. Although, as I recall, last time we played, I _did_ beat you."

He chuckled into her ear, "Perhaps, but if you recall what happened _after_ our game, I would say I came out the clear winner, _darling_."

…

Spending all this time with Killian, seeing that dagger in his hands, remembering the strange weight of his heart in her own, did nothing for Emma's nerves. For the past several weeks, she had repeatedly fought off nightmares of Killian having his heart taken and crushed by some unnamed entity. Sometimes it was Gold, sometimes Cora or Pan. Once, it a particularly disturbing and _vivid_ dream, it had been _her_ that had ripped it out and crushed it.

After that one, she had rushed to the bathroom of her parent's loft in the middle of the night, a full-on panic attack taking over. That was something that hadn't happened to her in years. It wasn't until hours later that the pressure in her chest subsided. With shaky limbs, she picked herself up off the bathroom floor and returned to her bed, where she tried desperately to pretend like nothing had happened. Thankfully, Henry was at Regina's that night, and with Neal's erratic sleep schedule, her parent's slept like the dead, so no one noticed that she never got a wink of rest.

Thinking back, she realized the nightmares had started the night she put back his heart. They kept occurring every night immediately following, but their growing closeness, his warm embraces, and taking that next step in their relationship seemed to keep the nightmares at bay. However, recent events were proving the hellish dreams were far from over.

Of course, she kept it all to herself. Why burden him with her panicked dreams? And it wasn't like she couldn't handle a few pesky nightmares. After all, she had been doing it all her life. So what if she took a little bit longer to let go of his hand or to break out from his kisses. It wasn't as if he was going to mind.

So she kept dealing with it like she always did: pretending it wasn't bothering her, pushing down the fear and fighting back. After all, everybody knew that nightmares weren't reality.

It wasn't until the day Leroy burst into the station, shouting "He's here!" over and over, that she decides maybe she couldn't really keeping running anymore.

David looked up from his paperwork, a knot in his brow and a frown on his lips. "What's going on, Leroy? Who's here?"

Leroy grumbled, but stood resolute. "Oh, no one except the Dark One himself! No doubt he's back for a little revenge on the people that kicked him out."

Emma stood up violently from her seat, nearly knocking over her coffee in the process. "Gold's back? How? I thought he couldn't cross the town line."

Leroy shook his head and crossed his arms. "That's the other problem. Me and Doc were checking the border like we do most days, and this time, something seemed different. So, Doc reaches out to test it, but the magic just wasn't there. I'm telling you, sister, it's gone. The border is down."

Emma rolled her eyes skeptically. "But what does that have to do with Gold? Just because the magic's gone, doesn't mean Gold has returned."

Shaking his head, Leroy growled. "It does when Sleepy spots him walking down an alleyway near the docks."

Emma's gathering hope fell, and her heart leapt in her throat. "Sleepy saw him? He's back?"

"Yep, sister, and my money is on he's up to no good."

_Belle. Henry. Killian. Who knows who he might have his sights on now?_

David sensed her hesitation and clapped a reassuring hand on his daughters arm. "Don't worry, Emma. I'm sure we'll find him. Who knows? Maybe spending some time without his magic has made him realize what he did to Belle was wrong."

"You sound like Mary Margaret," Emma scolded. "I know Gold. If he's back, it's not to apologize for his actions. He's here to get his 'happy ending'."

David looked mildly offended, but sighed. "You're probably right. Still, don't worry. We'll keep everyone safe."

 _Keeping everyone safe. Everyone like Killian._ The memory of the nightmares returned sharper than ever. There had to be some way to get rid of this fear, it was nearly crippling her. Sure she trusted him, trusted him far more than she was willing to admit. But that didn't mean he couldn't be hurt. Or used. Or kil-.

She shook off that last thought. She needed a concrete way to protect him, to ease her mind about his heart. Then, the nightmares would stop and she could focus on doing what she needed to do to protect this town once again.

What she needed was magic. She needed to see Regina.

"Dad, why don't you go with Leroy and Doc and check out the border, I'll go get Regina and meet you there."

David nodded, and grabbed the keys for his truck, sweeping by Leroy in the process. When they were gone, Emma donned her jacket and grabbed her own keys, her mind racing with visions of a certain pirate.

…..

"You want to do what?" Regina declared, pulling the last tray of brownies out of the oven and setting them on the counter. She arched a brow and removed the pot holders from her hands.

"I want to see if there's a way to keep a heart from being taken," she repeated, hovering her hand above a plate of already cut brownies and wondering if Regina would notice the absence if she was to sneak one. _Screw it,_ she decided and picked up a warm chocolate square and shoved it in her mouth. _Damn, Regina could bake!_ She looked at Regina like a defiant child caught with its hand in the cookie jar, daring her to call her out on the theft.

Regina rolled her eyes at Emma's challenge, but didn't comment. "Henry's heart is already protected, so I'm not entirely sure why you are asking about this, Miss Swan."

Emma fought off a blush and looked down, but it was enough to give her away.

Regina sighed and shook her head, "This is about your pirate, isn't it. Are you really that concerned that someone is interested in stealing away his heart, again? It's not like they need to steal it. All you'd have to do is offer him enough of an incentive and he'll do whatever is asked. After all, he is a pirate."

Emma quickly went from playful to furious. "We think Gold is back, and I'd rather not take the chance of him trying to use Killian to get to me. Or Henry. You know Gold sent him to kidnap Henry during the shattered-sight curse, right? What makes you think he wouldn't try it again?"

Clenching her jaw, Regina relented. "Fine. Look, I don't even know why you are asking me. You're powerful enough, you know how magic works. Really, it's not that complicated of a spell. Like all magic, it's about intent. You just think about what you want, what you really, _really_ want." She raised an eyebrow, no doubt privy to the rumors of her and Killian's developing relationship.

"I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want…" Emma quipped without thinking, brushing off Regina's look of confusion. "Never mind. Look, that's not the only reason I came over. We need you to help us figure out what happened at the town line."

For the first time, Regina stopped her baking and turned around. "What do you mean?" There was an edge of desperation in her voice that softened away Emma's anger.

"The dwarves said the curse is gone. They think people can come back across the line."

Regina went silent, and Emma knew exactly what, or rather, _who,_ she must be thinking about. A moment later, Regina reached over and turned off the stove. "I'll get my coat."

…..

When they arrived, David and Leroy were already searching around the town line for any sign of who or what could have caused the change in magic. Emma and Regina exchanged a look, and approached the red line with determination.

Throwing out a hand, Emma pushed against what she thought would be a magical membrane, only to find no resistance whatsoever.

"I think the magic is really gone. We're wide open." Emma commented.

Regina stared at the long stretch of road with sad gaze. "I suppose we had better fix that, or else we could have another Greg Mendell situation on our hands."

Emma sighed, turning towards the plainly hurting woman. "Regina—"

"Don't, Emma. Just don't. If he wanted to come back, he have found a way. Isn't that right?" She spat in a barely contained whisper.

Emma fought the rising heat of her guilt. Killian had crossed realms to find her, but Robin, Regina's _true love_ , had completely left her. Was it just that Killian was that much more dedicated, or was it that their relationship was something more special than she was willing to admit?

"Maybe," Emma offered.

With a measured look, Emma raised her hands and closed her eyes. She could feel Regina do the same. Willing her magic to spread out and seal up the town from danger, she felt it leave her body in a gush of wind, wrap itself up and over the town like a bubble, and harden into a shell.

Now all she had to do was the same thing for her pirate.

….

"Killian, I have a favor to ask you," Emma said coyly, running her hand down his arm so that she could interlace their fingers. He tilted his head up and smiled, blue eyes still hazy from their earlier lovemaking.

"Anything, my love."

Her face flushed hot, and she decided she had best barrel through this. "I want to do a spell on you to protect your heart from being taken again."

He blinked a few times, processing her words. When at last it settled in, she could see the blue in his eyes dim slightly. "Swan, I told you not to worry about me."

"I know you are a survivor, Killian." She replied tensely, squeezing his hand between their half-naked bodies. The heat coming from him was like a furnace, and she nudged herself in even closer as they lay on his bed. "And this isn't because I don't trust you to take care of yourself or not make the same mistakes. I just don't trust anyone else to not try and hurt you." She left off the need to say Gold's name, but she knew that he was thinking the same thing she was.

"Swan—" he started, scratching at his ear with his hook, he seemed to struggle internally with himself, before letting out a long breath. "Very well, love. If it eases your mind, you may do whatever you like with my heart. You have been its keeper for a while now, anyway."

It was always the stuff he said like that that made her so fiercely determined to protect him in the first place. _Stupid mushy pirate._

She slipped her hand out of his and laid it across his bare torso, feeling that spot, between his firm chest muscles, where it was bony and rigid. She could feel her magic rise up to the surface, tingling and electrifying her fingertips as they sought out his heart just beneath the bone. He sucked in a sharp breath, like he could feel the effect as well.

Scrunching her face up and sticking her tongue between her teeth, she thought about what Regina had said. It was all about intent. She needed to keep him safe, to protect this beautiful thing residing within him from all harm. The warmth of her magic spread out, illuminating them in a faint glow, and she could feel it working. She could feel his heart anchoring itself to his body…

…Until it all went wrong.

She had made a mistake. Instead of focusing on controlling her magic, she looked up, straight into his eyes. She saw the pure, unfiltered love emanating from his soul, reverberating back into her, like he was anchoring himself _to her_. And she forgot about her intent to protect just his heart. She wanted more than that. She wanted to protect hers as well. Not from him, from the pain of _losing_ him. From losing _this_. This closeness, this connection she shared with him that she had never shared with another soul. Because losing him wouldn't just hurt her, it would destroy her. She knew she could never survive it. Somehow he had wormed his way so thoroughly into her heart, she couldn't bare to let him go.

And not only that, she was tired of fighting whatever this was between them. She was tired of being scared. It was too late to be scared, she knew that now. She just wanted to be so sure of whatever this was, whatever they were becoming, so that she could stop questioning it so damn much. She wanted to believe that she was the person he saw when he looked at her like she was the most amazing thing he had ever laid eyes on.

Suddenly, there was a spark of pain in her chest, a tightness in her own ribs. Her breath and his tumbled together, her magic flickering wildly, a strong pulsing beat flooding from where they were connected. His eyes turned from the grey of morning to the blue of twilight and he tilted his head fractionally towards her. Licking his lips, his gaze darted to her mouth, and she guessed his intentions a second before he attacked.

His kiss was molten fire. Coupled with her still thrumming magic, it made her feel awash in flame and fire. All throughout her body, tiny sparks ignited causing her to tremble with sensation. A moan of delight ripped from her throat and his answered growl sent her soaring. He delved farther into her mouth, licking and sucking her lips, tracing down her jaw, nibbling at her neck. With her free hand, she carded through the hair on his neck, directing him right where she needed him, while feathering his ear with her panting breath.

"Gods, Emma," he whispered haltingly, like he couldn't form the words without pain. "What are you doing to me?" He sounded thoroughly wrecked and they hadn't done anything but kiss.

She bit playfully at his ear and pushed his head down towards her breasts. "I don't know, but I don't want it to stop." She sounded breathy and high-pitched and completely wild.

Looking down, she saw her fingers twitch and the light spreading around them grew until his whole chest was wrapped in a hazy, white glow. She could barely make out Killian's face buried in the twin light coming out of her own chest.

 _What was going on? Why did it feel like her heart was about to burst out of her and exploded into a million pieces? Why did her soul feel like it had met its match? And why was he so damn good at that?_ Killian chuckled and continued his assault on her tender breasts.

It didn't take long for her to forget her questions and get lost in the sensations Killian was eliciting in her as he suckled and rubbed against her. What little clothes they had on were quickly discarded, and in a frenzied rush, he dove into her, completing the dance of they had started so long ago.

And when they climaxed together, Emma could have sworn the earth literally moved.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A good bit of fluff before we meet the villains. Enjoy it while it lasts, folks.

Emma woke at dawn the next morning with a bright smile across her face. Her whole body sang with excitement and she couldn't recall ever feeling so light. _Mmm, Killian,_ she thought with a wicked grin. It almost felt as if he was still holding on to her, like she was still wrapped up in his strong arms even though she had left him last night to return home to the loft. And the nightmares were gone, too. She was pretty sure her dreams had been nothing but pleasant. It was a wonderful feeling.

She rolled around in bed, watching the sky outside catch fire and lighten from grey to yellow. The crippling fear that had been plaguing her was gone and in its place was nothing but a sense of peaceful contemplation. Her heart felt so full and bright she thought she might break into song.

 _Wouldn't that be ridiculously ironic? A daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming wanting to have her own flash mob musical number._ She tried not to picture Killian twirling her around and singing back to her in that deep, seductive voice of his, but utterly failed.

Biting her bottom lip, she grinned secretly as she replayed the previous night's events. The kissing, the touching, the _magic_. Why had her magic taken over like that? It made her feel incredibly powerful, like she had just scratched the surface of some monumental revelation about herself. And the way she had connected with Killian, like she could almost literally see his soul. She kept daydreaming until a warm rush spread throughout her body and she knew she should stop before things got out of hand.

Really, it was amazing just to be able to think about Killian without fearing for his safety. Even her nagging doubts about his love for her were gone. She felt like, at long last, she was able to give him her whole heart like he deserved, free and clear of the shadows of her past.

She wondered if he felt the same way, too.

Knowing she had to get up and get ready for work, Emma forced the thoughts from her mind. She jumped up from her bed, eager to see her pirate once more.

….

"Henry? Have you seen the coffee filters?" Emma called across the kitchen, riffling through the upper cabinets. She had already searched through them once, but she was studiously going back through. Her son was absorbed in his own morning routine and barely acknowledged her request.

"Mom, I'm 13. I don't drink coffee, ergo, I have no idea where they might be," Henry replied, rechecking his book bag for his homework.

"Hey!" Emma huffed, stopping her search to reach over the counter and ruffle her son's hair. "It's too early for your sass, young man."

He tilted his head up and flashed her a wide grin. "It's never too early for my _adorable_ sass."

Clearly, her son had been hanging out with Killian too much, though Emma's heart purred at the thought. "You're right, but I pretty sure you can't out adorable sass me."

Smirking, Henry shoved a Pop-Tart in his mouth and mumbled, "Wouldn't want to." A moment later, he gathered up his bag and gave her a quick wave. "I've got to go. Dinner at Granny's tonight?"

With a nod, she pulled him close and kissed his head. "See ya, kid. Have a good day."

"Bye mom," Henry called as he headed out the door.

As Emma turned to once again search for the missing filters, she heard the patter of feet coming from the loft staircase.

"Did you know that when a baby has an ear infection, they are only able to sleep about two hours at a time?" Mary Margaret slurred, stopping at the kitchen island to watch her daughter fussing about in the kitchen. She blinked at the large smile, curled hair, and even a hint of makeup that Emma was sporting and suddenly blurted out, "Oh my god, are you making coffee? I love coffee."

Emma chuckled at how frazzled her normally immaculate mother looked. She was still in a pair of flannel pajamas and the top was clearly on inside out. Her short brown hair was sticking out in all directions. "Well, I was going to, but I can't seem to find the coffee filters," Emma answered pointedly.

Mary Margaret collapsed onto a stool and buried her face in her hands. "Check the fridge. I may have mistaken them for a bowl of strawberries last night," came a muffled reply.

Opening the fridge, Emma immediately caught sight of the filters sitting on the bottom shelf. She rolled her eyes and snorted. "Ha! Gotcha!"

While she busied herself with making the coffee, her mother continued to roll her head in her arms and moan. "I have _never_ been this tired. And I lived on the run for years. I can't even make…words…make sense. Where are all the midwives in this town when you need them?"

"Too busy leading an army of flying monkeys and plotting to rewrite history," Emma commented with a little apologetic shrug.

Mary Margaret looked away sadly. "Oh yeah. That sucks."

Emma began to chuckle as the coffee percolated behind her. "Maybe I should call David and have him come home. You really need to rest."

"No!" Mary Margaret yelled, blanching at how loud her outburst was. "No," she repeated softer. "You need him to help with town stuff. And Gold. I can manage, don't worry."

"It'll be fine. I'll just call Killian to help." Emma said nonchalantly, turning around to pour out the _coffee_ so that her mother would catch the rising blush on her cheek.

Unfortunately, even half asleep, her mother was still sharp enough to catch on. "Oh? You know, it seems like he's been helping out a lot lately. In fact, I'm pretty sure you must have been helping out each other last night, seeing as you didn't make it home until after midnight."

The blush on Emma's cheek burned all the way down her neck. "Maybe," she mumbled, taking a long sip of her coffee to hide the smile taking over her lips.

Her mother's eyes softened and then took on a hazy, sleepy glaze. "I'm really glad you're happy, Emma."

"What makes you think I'm happy?" Emma asked with genuine curiosity.

Shrugging, Mary Margaret chuckled and waved her hands about in an uncoordinated flourish. "It's all over you. I can tell. _Everyone_ can tell."

Normally at this point, Emma's walls would slam back up and she would go on the defensive. But not today. She wasn't feeling that need to hide today. "Yeah, I guess I am happy." Emma admitted.

"And in _love_?" Mary Margaret pried, fluttering her eyes ridiculously. Suddenly, Emma had a flash of the cartoon version of Snow White whistling a tune while bluebirds played with her hair, singing a tune about Prince Charming. Sometimes having her mother be a cartoon character was utterly ridiculous.

"Maybe," Emma replied, wondering why this conversation wasn't making her feel more agitated. It was the exact sort of thing that she had always ran from in the past.

Clearly, Mary Margaret's lack of sleep was finally catching up with her and her voice fluttered away, "You're in love! My baby's in love. With a pirate! And she's going to get married and have babies and…" Her head collapsed onto the counter with a thud.

Struck with sudden inspiration and desperately wanting to change the subject, Emma said, "I'm going to call Belle. She can come over and watch Neal so you can sleep. Plus I'll feel better knowing she's safe away from Gold."

Mary Margaret grunted out her agreement as she waved a hand above her head. Emma then called Belle, who was all too eager to come and help out and promised to be there shortly.

"Come on, mom, let's get you back to bed," Emma declared, gently leading her mother to the stairway.

All the way, her mother kept mumbling about how Emma was her 'precious baby girl' and how she was the 'bestest daughter ever'. Then, right before she went up, Mary Margaret turned, her eyes barely open, and said, "You know, I love you, Emma."

Emma swallowed hard, but gave her a slight nod and answer quietly, "You too, mom. Although, right now, you're kind of putting a drunken Happy to shame."

….

David was busy making calls when Emma arrived at the station, fresh coffee in tow. He nodded and smiled warmly as she set the cup down, and she turned to pick up the file he had laid on her desk.

There hadn't been much to report after the initial sighting of Gold. If he truly was back in Storybrooke, he was keeping out of sight and who knows where he might be. Nothing else was happening except a few reports of strange dogs and birds popping up around town. Apparently, the fairies had returned to the convent and were said to be recuperating, the town line was being patrolled by a rotating schedule of Merry Men and dwarves, and overall, it was looking to be like any other day in the unusually quiet village.

Just after nine o'clock, Killian arrived, a box in his hands. He lit up with a smile at the sight of Emma and presented the box to her.

"Bear claws?" She asked in disbelief. "Since when do you bring me donuts? You've always shown up with coffee. What gives, pirate?" She squinted and poked him in the chest, the same place where she had secured his heart last night.

He looked down at her fingers, and swept his hand over hers, giving her knuckles a playful kiss. Then, he shrugged and scratched absently at his ear. "I'm not sure. I just had a feeling like this was what you would be wanting today."

Emma bit her lip and looked over to her half-empty cup. It was odd, she had been craving the sticky-sweet baked goods that morning, but hadn't found the time to go pick any up. "Well," she said, filing it away as unimportant, and lifting a bun from the box, "I'd say you have very good instincts."

Killian leaned over her desk, hovering inches from her face, "My instincts are never wrong, Swan. Especially when it comes to pleasing you, Swan."

Taking a bite, she grinned at him, "No, they aren't."

"By the way, I have to say that you look especially lovely today, Swan. Almost as if you are glowing." There wasn't a hint of innuendo in his tone, and Emma reached up to twirl a strand of hair through her fingers. Killian's cool blue gaze locked onto gesture and he rolled his tongue against his cheeks.

Clenching her thighs tightly, Emma muttered, "You're kinda hot yourself." She clutched her mug tightly to prevent herself from running her hands through his silky black hair, while his eyebrow raised in shock at her admission and his lips curled sinfully up into his scruff.

"Hey you two!" David interrupted like an irate dad after coming back into the room to find his daughter and the pirate batting their eyes flirtatiously. "Killian, any news on your end?"

Killian drew himself up and throwing back on his schooled mask of indifference, "Unfortunately, no, your highness." Beside him, Emma smirked and pretended to focus on her pastry. "The docks and warehouses are all imp-free."

Emma snorted at that and Killian gave her a sly eyebrow waggle.

David groaned inwardly at their antics and shook his head. "I don't like this. If Gold is back, he's up to no good and we should really stop him before something happens."

Sighing, Emma replied, "I would agree if we knew where he was."

David flashed over to Killian, "Hook, Belle gave you the dagger. Maybe we could use it to summon him and find out what he's up to."

Killian paled and Emma felt her heart lurch in sudden revulsion. Odd, considering she didn't think she felt _that_ strongly about Gold.

"No," Killian stated coldly. "I've gone to great pains to conceal that dagger and I've no wish to retrieve it at whim." He wasn't exactly lying, but Emma sensed there was something more that he wasn't saying. _What's going on with you, Killian?_

A sudden image flashed of the dagger in her hand, it feeling unnaturally cold and just _wrong_ lying against her skin _._ For some reason, it felt as though there were rings on her hand. _Weird_. She never wore rings. And she had never held the dagger either, so how would she know what it felt like?

David's booming voice broke her from her thoughts and she snapped back to the present. "Hook, this might be the only way to find out what he's up to. To stop him before he hurts anyone. We need to use that dagger."

Emma could tell how much Killian was struggling with his demons by the thinly veiled masked of fury in his eyes, and she knew she needed to step in. "I'm not sure that's the best idea," she said. "We don't know he's even in town for certain and who knows what could happen if we try to force that man to do anything. He'll find a way out of it, David, you know he will and he'll be even more furious. Not to mention that Belle would never approve. It would be too much like we were torturing him."

Collapsing into a chair, David ran a hand over his face. "Maybe you're right, Emma."

Killian grumbled, "Of course she is, mate."

Shooting Killian a sharp look, David sighed. "I just hate this waiting. I want to know that my children and my wife, not to mention this town, are safe."

"Aye," Killian agreed, softening his stature, but his tone remained icy. "Uncertainty leads to rash decisions and an anxious mind. I'd much rather have the fiercest of foes facing me so that I can fight against them, than to play this shadow game nonsense. It's interminable."

David met Killian's gaze with an almost awed look. "Yeah, exactly."

Emma felt a flush of affection for the way her father and her pirate had slowly been building to this strange bromance they started back in Neverland. At first, it had been pretty awkward, but now she was beginning to see how it would benefit both of the men she cared about. And that made her incredibly happy.

Before they could start with the high-fives and back slaps however, the spell was broken by an unexpected arrival to the station.

"Blue?" Emma asked, looking up towards the door. "What are you doing here?"

The fairy lifted her chin and wrang her hands nervously. "I…I think we might have a problem."

Emma swallowed. She had never seen the fairy this visibly upset. "What happened?"

"My sisters and I have become increasingly certain that there is a dark presence in Storybrooke that shouldn't be here." She shifted, looking around at the three people in the room, not even glaring at Killian like she had the other day. "We think she was here before, with the original curse, but whatever spell was over her is no doubt gone and her powers have returned."

"Blue, who are you talking about?" David asked.

"The Dark Fairy. We believe she must have been trapped in the hat along with the other fairies and that when you released us, you released her, too."

"The Dark Fairy?" Emma asked uncertainly.

"Maleficent."

Emma, Killian, and David all stared in stunned silence. Emma was the first to recover, and she crossed her arms, frowning. "That can't be. I killed her."

"I'm sorry to defer, darling, but _I_ killed her," Killian announced. He shrugged when Emma narrowed her eyes and hastened to explain himself, "Well, I blocked her magic with those cuffs from Greg and Tamara, anyway. I'm assuming that Pan's curse would have taken care of her." He suddenly released just what he was saying and scratched nervously behind his ear with his hook, averting his eyes from everyone in the room.

"Did you put her in the hat, too?" Emma snapped.

Killian shook his head sheepishly. "I would guess a foe that formidable would be someone the Crocodile would attend to personally. Not that you lovely ladies aren't quite talented yourselves." He said with a wink at an indignant Blue. Emma groaned and shook her head at him.

"Wait, Emma," David asked suddenly, "What did you mean you killed Maleficent? How come I didn't hear about this?"

Shrugging, Emma gave him an apologetic look, and said, "You did. She was the dragon I killed with your sword in the mines under the Library."

"She was a dragon?" David asked, looking to Blue for conformation.

Blue rolled her eyes. "Maleficent can shift form into a dragon, a crow… basically anything with wings. And her powers are quite potent. If she has regained them and is free to do as she pleases, then Storybrooke could be facing a great threat. There is no small amount of people whom Maleficent would like to see pay for her suffering." For some reason, she gave David a long, knowing look.

Mentally filing that away to ask about later, Emma continued on. "So if Maleficent is back, how do we stop her?"

For Emma, the questions were piling up. Questions about Maleficent. Gold. Who knows what those two could cook up together?

They all looked to the fairy whose wide eyes betrayed her fear. "You don't," she replied.

…

Ravens.

He could clearly hear the swarm of ravens in the nearby trees.

_Good, she was here._

Before he could prepare himself, he felt a force of magic lifting him by the throat and holding him off the ground.

"Maleficent, how nice to see you again," Rumple chuckled. He didn't need to see her to know exactly who it was that had him caught. He also didn't need to see her eyes to know why she was angry, too.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't end your worthless existence right here and now, Rumplestiltskin." She came into view, all dressed in shimmering black, her horned headgear tragically missing. In its place, a soft cascade of blonde curls fell down her back. With a determined stare, she lifted her hand…

"One reason, dearie? I'll give you three." Rumple offered. He could tell by the slight flicker in her eye that her curiosity had been peaked. "Ladies?" He called, a little bit louder.

From the surrounding forest, two women emerged as different as night and day, and yet of the same purpose. The three women stared at each other in silent showdown before an unspoken truce was reached. "Ursula, Cruella. I'd never thought I'd have the pleasure. I suppose you're here to save this imp's worthless life?" Maleficent said with a flash of her talons fingers.

Cruella shrugged and pulled her enormous fur coat back over the shoulder it had slipped off of. "Not really, no. If you want to kill him, by all means."

Ursula rolled her eyes at the two-toned lady. "Except that he has made us an offer."

Lowering her hand, Maleficent let Rumple drop heavily to the forest floor. "Oh, like before? Because if I recall that didn't work out so well for any of us."

Stepping forward, Ursula raised her head in defiance, her anger matching the camo and green fatigues she wore. "It would have if you had kept up your end of our agreement, Mal."

Sensing the brewing tension in the air, Rumple picked himself up and dusted his suit jacket with a well-practiced shuffling of his hands. "Ladies, please. This will get us nowhere. Anyway, we all know who is really to blame for our loss."

The three women shot each other a deadly glance before all turning to focus on him. "Not me," he chuckled, hands on chest. "The heroes. Every story has one. And it seems as though they are destined to win every time, why we, the villains, are perpetually denied that which we truly desire: our own happy ending."

The mood shifted and he could tell he had each of the ladies' undivided attention. "Now, as I promised you all many years ago, I'm here to help you achieve your happy ending." He flicked his hand and it the air a small glass globe hovered.

"What on earth is that?" Cruella sneered. "I'm no cut-rate fortune teller, Rumple, I have the blood of queens in my veins!"

With a complicated flourish, he huffed indignantly. "This is no crystal ball, dearie, I assure you."

"Then what is it?" Ursula asked, stepping closer.

He gave a tittering chuckle. "Why, it's nothing, dearie!" At the angry, unamused looks from the witches, he clarified, "Well, nothing _yet._ But soon, it will be able to grant you your deepest desires."

Cruella rolled her eyes, "You've made this speech before, and I've no time for your riddles. Frankly, this whole thing bores me. If you can't deliver this time, than I shall take it out on your hide." Her eyes sparkled with malicious intent.

Maleficent added, "Not before I do."

"Or me," Ursula added coolly. "You broke a deal with me once, Rumplestiltskin. I haven't forgotten. No one breaks my deals."

Rumple gave the woman a look of penitent desperation. "Ladies, there's no need to bring out the claws. Perhaps if you would let me explain further. You see, this orb is mere a vessel used to capture and hold the darkest of dark magic. Once collected inside, this magic will be powerful enough to undo and remold any magic ever cast. Including the magic governing the happy endings."

"That's all well and good, Rumple, but your ball is empty. How exactly do you intend to gather this dark magic?" Maleficent asked warily. She clearly was still sore about Rumple trapping her once already and had no intention of falling for it again.

"Why that, my dear, is precisely why I've called you here. You see, it will take the combined power of three evil sorcerers to enact the curse we need." Rumple replied, as if the answer should have been obvious. He flicked his hand and the orb vanished once more. Smoothing down his suit jacket, he paced the forest floor.

"What kind of curse requires that sort of magic?" Cruella asked, hugging her fur coat tightly.

"Why, a curse designed to corrupt the purest of hearts. To turn that which is light into darkness," he replied cryptically.

"Speak plain, imp!" Ursula demanded, her eyes flashing vivid green with her growing irritation.

He sighed. "You take the fun out of everything. Very well. You will need to enact a curse which can corrupt a heart born of true love, a heart that represents all that is light and good and pure." His voice sang out on the last words. He smiled cruelly. "A heart of a _savior_."

Maleficent's eyes went wide with realization. "And just how will this curse work? How are we going to be able to get close enough to the Savior to be able to administer it?"

Grinning widely, Rumple held a hand up to his chest and snapped his finger. Within seconds, a loud, beastly roar echoed through the forest trees. A shadow swooped down covering over them and blocking out the sun all around.

He looked up, smiling at the monster above him. "Well, dearies, as the heroes like to say, it's going to take teamwork."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next: More about the connection between Killian and Emma and the villains come out to play.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N- A bit longer for the update on this, sorry. To make up for it, how about an extra long chapter?
> 
> Thank you for reading and for the kudos. I welcome comments as well!

 

Killian looked up from his charts and waved at the brown-haired boy who was hastily making his way down the docks. There was a bright, wide smile on his face as he made his way over to where Killian was seated. Looking upon Swan's son, Killian was struck by an overwhelming familiarity in the shape of the boy's face and color of his eyes. He was starting to look more and more like his father every day, Killian noted.

"Ahoy, Master Mills! What brings you down here today?" Killian asked cheerfully, folding up the charts and ship logs he had been going over and pushing them to the side.

Henry tossed his school bag onto the bench and took a seat next to him. With a slight shrug he said, "It's Saturday."

Killian chuckled. "So it is, lad. Why aren't you with your mothers?"

Picking up a strangely shaped nautical device that was being used as a paperweight, Henry twirled it around in his hands, studying it closely. "They're busy."

"And the Charmings?"

"Also busy."

Killian nodded. "Ah. So you've been shipped off to me again, eh?"

Henry's eyes shot up. "No! I mean, I didn't come here because everyone else is busy, I just wanted to just hang out, you know," he pout, placing the object back where it had come from.

It wasn't that Killian thought the lad was lying, but he sensed that there was something more weighing on the boy's mind. But he knew Henry well enough by now to know that if he wanted to ask a question, he would just come right out and say it. So Killian merely smiled and clapped the boy on the back affectionately. "Well, lad, while I don't have the use of any of these fine sailing vessels today," he smirked, waving a hand to indicate the two rundown tugs boats and small row boat left moored to the docks, "perhaps there is something else we could find to do." He embellished the thought with a lifted brow.

Scurrying over the bench, Henry stood up and gave a mock salute, saying cheerfully, "At your disposal, Captain."

Killian's heart flamed with the gesture and he fought hard to wipe the goofy grin from his face. He schooled his look back into his more rigid Captain persona and nodded curtly. "Aye. Good form, lad. Now, what say you to a fishing lesson?"

Letting his hand flop down to his side, Henry rolled his eyes. "I already know how to fish, Killian," he said in a somewhat disappointed voice. "Leroy and the dwarves take me out all the time."

Running a hand across his stubble, Killian studied the boy with a keen blue gleam in his eye. "No doubt those dwarves have taught you about using a line and hook, but have you ever learned to cast a net?"

"A net? I've used one that looked like a tennis racket before. It had a long handle, the end was shaped like this-" he demonstrated by drawing an oval shape through the air with his finger.

Killian huffed and laid his hook arm across the boy's shoulder while he used his other hand for emphasis. "No, lad. A true fisherman's net is a very useful tool. Young men, like yourself, spend years learning how to braid and knot the hemp line to create a net worthy enough to catch even the largest of hauls." He strolled over to the planks in front of the harbor master's office and pulled a roughly woven webbing from its place on a barrel and returned to the seat where Henry remained.

He continued his demonstration, thumbing the braids through his hand and showing the craftsmanship to the enraptured boy. "It's vital to life aboard a pirate ship, m'boy, as the nets were what we used to catch our dinner. In point of fact, your very life might depend upon the strength of your net. Why, once at sea in Neverland, a giant sea beast with tenticles the size of trees attacked the Jolly and all I had available was the net." Henry's eyes grew wide, hanging on every word. "And let me tell you, lad, you haven't dined until you've had roast sea beast."

"That sounds awesome. Do you think you could teach me to catch one?" Henry begged.

With a chuckle, Killian ruffled the boys hair, earning him an annoyed (but not really annoyed) glare. "Well, lad, if such creatures exist in the oceans of this realm, then I daresay I can. However, perhaps we should start small for now, eh?"

Bobbing his head excitedly, Henry agreed and they got to work.

Hours later, Henry was able to cast out a net, throwing it so far that it spread out wide on the water and drifted evenly down into the greenish depths. With help from Killian, who provided the muscle, he even managed to wrangle a few impressive fish hauls, to the wonder of the local fisherman. Each time bringing up his catch with a triumphant grin.

It was while they were taking a break in the late afternoon and drinking a syrupy concoction Henry called 'root beer' (although Killian complained the name was entirely in bad form as the drink contained neither 'root' nor 'beer'), Henry turned to him and said, "Thanks for today. You're a really good teacher, Killian."

Taken aback by the compliment, Killian couldn't help the rush of blood to his cheeks. "My thanks, lad. You make an excellent pupil."

Henry frowned, an all too familiar look that must have been passed down from his mother, and twirled his bottle in his lap. "And I think you are really good for my mom," he said shyly. He caught Killian's startled gaze and grew bolder. "She smiles all the time now. I've never seen her like that. And I know she really likes you."

"You do?"

He shrugged, "Yeah, I mean, she looks at you like Grandma looks at Grandpa, you know. And I'm old enough to know that means she loves you."

Killian swallowed hard, blinking away the dampness in his eyes before the boy could see. Instead, he downed the rest of the bottled drink in a fierce gulp. When Henry showed no signs of continuing, Killian decided it was time to take a risk and ask the boy a question that had been plaguing him for quite some time. "Lad…Henry…your mother means a great deal to me. As do you. However, I know the things I've done have been less than heroic at times." He sighed wondering why this was so hard to admit. He was a pirate, for heaven's sake!

"I hope you know that I would go to any length to prove my worth to you and your mother. And likewise do anything for your happiness." He gathered his courage, gripping the bottle tightly in his hand and studiously fixed his gaze on Henry's. "So, if… if you'd have me, I like to be a part of your family some day."

Henry was unnaturally quiet. Panicked, Killian wondered if he might have overstepped his bounds with the boy. Suddenly, Henry looked up and asked, "Are you saying you want to marry my mom?"

His heart thudded wildly, and it was like time stopped. "Aye, eventually. And only if she'll have me," he said in a choked voice, trying to keep his gaze locked onto the boy's.

After an agonizing silence that in reality probably only lasted a millisecond, Henry's face broke into a happy grin. "Cool," he said, as if the whole question of Killian marrying his mom was a foregone conclusion. "And for what it's worth, I kind of already think of you as part of the family."

What a difference between that and what the lad had told him while under the curse! Maybe there was truly hope for him yet.

If Henry hadn't gone back to the shoreline then, he would have seen Killian's struggle not to let his emotions take over.

_He, Killian Jones, Captain bloody Hook, was a part of something. Not just anything. A part of a family._

Killian joined him at the shore in completely stunned silence, absently going through the motions of casting out the nets. He couldn't get Henry's words out of his head. He wanted to believe them so badly.

Perhaps that was why he didn't notice the large fish hook twisted around the length of rope until after it had torn a chunk of his palm, leaving it smarting wickedly and dripping a large stream of blood. Knowing Swan would kill him if he cursed in front of her boy, he bit his tongue back from the string of agonized filth he wanted to unleash and choose to redirect the pain to clenching his jaw.

Henry's eyes went wide at the sight of the blood dripping from the wound, but he maintained his composure, sprinting off to retrieve medical supplies from the harbor master's office.

Searching for a clean scrap of cloth to wrap around his bleeding palm, his mind flashed back to performing the same gesture for Emma atop the beanstalk. It was if that memory, coupled with Henry's earlier announcement, made the physical pain simply melt away. Before Henry even got back, the hot ache had dulled, the blood congealing quickly. Henry obviously wasn't about to take any chances on Killian's welfare, however, and determinedly set about fixing him up.

The whole thing made him feel a blissful state of contentment that he had known for centuries.

…..

Across town, sitting at her desk in the Sheriff's Station, Emma Swan suddenly jumped up in pain as a sharpness cut across her palm out of the blue. It was like someone had just shoved a large needle through her the meaty flesh and began twisting. Fighting back the pain and cursing under her breath, she slowly turned over her right hand, expecting to see blood or an angry red rash. Instead, there was nothing wrong with it at all, not even a change of color where she could have bruised it.

With a frown, she clenched her jaw against the pain, and traced a finger where the epicenter seemed to be located. She could feel the warm flood of her magic going to the spot, and soon enough the pain had dulled. She searched her desk for anything that might have caused it, but found nothing.

_What the hell was that?_

…

Killian and Henry strolled merrily down the street toward the station, Henry swinging his back back and forth between them while Killian whistled an old sea shanty. To an outsider, it would have appeared like nothing more than a father and son spending time together.

When they reached the station, the sun was just touching the horizon and Emma was already in the process of locking up. She turned to see them waiting for her and she couldn't help the butterflies in her chest at the sight of her dark haired pirate making somewhat goofy facial gestures to her son, who was laughing hysterically.

"Hey, guys. Have a good day?" She asked, slipping an arm over her son's shoulder and noting how he seemed taller than the last time she had done that.

Henry immediately began to recount the day's events with fervor, gushing about all that he had learned.

Killian stood nearby, scratching his ear in that adorable nervous fashion, and met her gaze with a soft light behind his blue eyes. She moved closer to slip her hand in his when she noticed the bandage wrapped around it.

"Killian, what happened?" She asked, her instinct pinging wildly that it was no coincidence his hand had been injured in the same spot she had felt that phantom pain in earlier.

He shrugged. "This Hook got hooked on a hook, love. Tis nothing." Next to him, Henry roared with laughter and clutched his sides.

Emma lifted the hand closer and met his eye, seeking permission to study the wound. He gave her an unconcerned nod and she quickly unwrapped the bandages. As she suspected, there was a two inch fissure right through the meaty part of his palm, exactly where she had felt the pain. Rewrapping it, she ran a hand through her hair and tried to come up with a different explanation.

"You alright, Swan?" He asked, concerned etched in his brow.

She schooled her face into a soft mask, and replied, "Yeah, just worried it might have been infected or something."

"No need to worry, love. You're boy patched me up quite well. Perhaps he should consider a career as a medic?"

Emma snorted at that and winked at her boy. "I think you'd have to talk him out of wanting to be a knight first."

"Or a pirate," Henry mumbled, so quietly Emma almost didn't catch it.

Killian seemed not to have heard him, and continued on as he was before. "Well, Swan, Master Mills, I thank you for a very enjoyable day, but I believe this is where we must say our farewells," he bowed to her graciously and gave a Captain's salute to Henry. As he passed by her on the way to his room at Granny's, he whispered in her ear, "Unless I see you later, darling."

Emma flashed him a wicked grin and they watched him go until he was swallowed up in the gathering gloom.

….

"So you really like hanging out with him, don't you?" Emma asked, her hands stuffed in her jacket pockets to keep them from feeling the evening chill. Henry never seemed to be too affected by the cold and she wondered if it was a product of living in Maine all his life or if it was just a boy thing.

He grinned up at her, his teeth and eyes showing up in the purple dusk. They were nearly at the loft, having walked back from the station after departing Killian. "Of course. He's a pirate," Henry stated as if that explained everything.

Suspicious at his too easy answer, she was about to ask him for more detail when a loud bark echoed down the street. Looking up, Henry squinted in the gloom and called, "Pongo?" before sprinting off down the street.

Emma followed his direction and closed in on her son, who had nearly reached the black and white Dalmatian already. "Henry, what's Pongo doing out here?"

Her son was trying to grab for the dog's leash which was fluttering loosely behind it, but the dog had other plans. It bolted for the opposite side of the street. Although it was evening and Storybrooke, it was still likely there might be a few passing cars out and Emma's heart pounded as the dog dashed into the road.

"Pongo!" Henry shouted, forgetting to watch for cars himself in his attempt to catch the dog.

Emma bolted after her boy, thankful that as far as she could tell, there were no cars on the road. "Henry, be careful!" She scolded.

Pongo was gaining speed, almost too far for either of them to catch up. Emma briefly wondered where Archie was and why his dog had gotten loose in the first place. Suddenly the dog stopped, stilling with a slight whimper and sitting obediently on the sidewalk, its tongue lolling to the side, ears cocked.

From the shadows of the storefront, a woman emerged, speaking softly to the dog and running a gloved hand down its fur.

Henry skidded to a stop, out of breath and panting, and blinked at the strangers unannounced appearance. "Hey! You caught him!" He commented in amusement. A moment later, Emma sidled up behind her son and eyed the stranger warily.

She was dressed in a fuzzy sweater, skinny jeans and heels, and her black-and-white streaked hair, poised demeanor, and expertly applied make-up suggested a woman of class and wealth. Running the leash through one hand, she continued to pet the dog with the other. "A beautiful animal, if not a bit head-strong." She tilted her head up at Emma and Henry and smiled warmly. "Is he yours?" She asked, looking to Henry.

"No," he replied, "he belongs to Doctor Hopper. But I take care of him some times."

Emma felt her magic stirring in her veins and an uneasy feeling washed over her. She tried not to think ill of the woman who had just saved Henry's favorite animal, but something about her wasn't sitting right.

"Oh, then it's no wonder he likes you so much," she said with a teasing tone. She held out the leash to Henry, but before he could take it, Emma stepped in. For some reason, the thought of the woman near her son made her uncomfortable. Then again, Emma always felt uncomfortable when strangers got near her son, so maybe it was nothing but her motherly instincts.

"Thank you," she replied curtly, reaching out for the leash. The woman's gloved hand slipped against Emma's palm and a sudden icy chill went down her spine. She shivered and pulled back the leash, tugging on it slightly.

The woman's cool gaze studied her for a minute, but her expression remained genuine. "Not a problem. I'm a dog lover myself, and I hate to see an animal in peril."

Before Emma could stop her, the woman shook back her two-toned hair and made a sharp turn, strolling back into the night were she had appeared with only the click-clack of her high heels trailing in her wake. After she was gone, Emma realized she didn't even get the woman's name.

And by the time she made it home (after Pongo was safely returned to his worried owner) she had forgotten about the encounter entirely.

…..

"Did you succeed in your task, dearie?" Gold asked, leaning heavily against his cane. Ursula and Maleficent hovered nearby, just inside the protective circle of trees where they had met earlier.

Cruella rolled her eyes indignantly. "Of course I did. Placing a tracking spell on her was child's play. Really Rumble, your faith in me is _astounding_. How did your wife ever put up with you?"

He clenched his jaw and ignored Cruella's taunts. "And is the curse almost ready?" He asked the others.

Maleficent looked up with a sneer, and Ursula crossed her arms. She replied, "We have collected all of the ingredients, but the magic it takes to cast it will require 24-hours. By this time tomorrow, it will be ready."

Rumple clutched his cane, lost in thought. He was so close now, he could feel the weight of darkness settling down upon him. His happy ending could not come too soon. Thankfully, these ladies didn't know that since he had returned, he had been keeping a very close eye upon his wife, and what he was seeing was profoundly upsetting. She had met someone else! Some sort of thick-browed _tosser_. And he was walking around town, holding hands with his Belle! His _wife_! Oh, how he would pay!

But not while Belle literally held all the power in her hands. She had his dagger, and there was no way she would let Rumple anywhere near her.

"Excellent," he seethed, the eagerness to be rid of his dagger and free to make his own fate nearly killing him.

His happy ending couldn't come soon enough.

….

As Emma lay in bed, she couldn't stop thinking about the incident with her hand. It seemed to her like some sort of sympathy pain, but coupled with magic, she wondered if it might be something more.

And she couldn't figure out why she wasn't more worried about all of this. Old Emma would have rushed right out and never stopped until she knew the truth. Old Emma would have kept Killian at arm's length, worried that he might be getting too close. Old Emma wouldn't have trusted that whatever connection they had was _real_.

But she didn't want to be Old Emma. She was really enjoying New Emma.

Her theory about a magical connection was confirmed later that night when she had a startlingly vivid dream of Killian's naked body lathering itself in the shower. In the vision, it was if she was looking down at his body, but through his eyes. It was like she could feel the way he felt; from the scalding hot water on his flesh, to the slide of his hands over his soapy chest, his muscles firm underneath. But it was the very real sting of the water on the fresh cut that was the biggest surprise. As was the fact that she could keenly feel the absence of the left hand, the phantom sensation of not having the attached appendage deeply disturbing.

 _Holy shit! I'm seeing what Killian is seeing right now!_ She thought, waking and bolting upright in her bed. Followed weirdly by _I never knew how awful missing a part of your body could feel._

As soon as her heart stopped racing and the panic subsided, she closed her eyes and let the images wash back over her, this time more acutely aware of what was happening. Killian was still in the shower, applying some sort of tea tree scented shampoo to his hair. The way it felt to trace his (her) hands over his (her) silky locks, the warm water tracing down his (her) smooth skin was beginning to send wicked sparks through her entire body.

_This is too much._

She got up and quickly threw on her sweater and jeans from earlier and prayed neither of her parents were awake as she slipped from the loft, racing for the bed and breakfast in record speed.

She was out of breath and more turned on than she had ever been by the time she reached his door, still occasionally having flashes of him touching himself in the shower. When she arrived, she didn't even bother knocking, knowing he was otherwise occupied, and used her skills to unlock his door.

Flinging her clothes off, she quietly let herself into the bathroom and let the warmth of the steam rush over her trembling body. When she climbed in behind him and slipped her arms around his waist, their bodies sliding together in delicious slickness, he didn't even flinch. It was as if he had known she was coming.

"Hey," she whispered in his ear, "I think we need to talk."

He growled and spun around, pulling her against his naked hardness. Dipping his head, the water running down over them, he replied tersely, "Later." A moment later, he was kissing her with his particular heady mix of passion, desperation and adoration, and nothing else mattered except how good it felt to be in his arms.

….

"So, what you are saying is that you can read my mind?" Killian asked, a slight tinge of fear and embarrassment behind his eyes. They were wrapped up in his blankets, naked and sated, and he was anything but tired. "If you wanted to know what kind of dirty thoughts this pirate has had about you, Swan, all you had to do was ask."

She giggled and pinched his side. He loved this side of her. So at ease and relaxed, so sure of his feelings towards her. He wanted more than anything to make her this happy always.

She looked away, her sparking green eyes lost in thought. "No, I don't think that's what this is. Ever since last night, I've been noticing these strange sensations and thoughts and even flashes of memories that I never realized weren't coming from me. I think they're yours, Killian. I think I'm feeling things you feel or think strongly. And then there's this—" she picked up his hand and ran a finger over the newly formed scab. "I felt this when it happened. It felt like I had been stabbed—"

"But there was no wound on you," Killian supplied, finally interpreting what she had been trying to tell him all morning. He pulled back his hand so that he could run it over her cheek and through her golden hair. "I'm sorry that it caused you pain, love."

She rolled her eyes and swatted him in the arm. "Don't be so dramatic. It's not like it was your fault."

He sighed, wishing she could understand just how guilty he felt anyway. Rationally, he knew he wasn't to blame, but the thought of his Swan in pain sent his rational side out the window.

"So, what do we do? I'd rather you not see all the tantalizing ideas I have in store for you, Swan. A man's got to have some secrets."

She gave him a flirty, "And so does a woman," but it lacked any real conviction because clearly what he had said struck something in her. He could see her eyes dim with memory.

Secrets. There were still secrets between them, things she didn't want anyone to know about her _ever,_ and certainly not him. And could she handle seeing his mind? 300 years of torment and torture, trapped in the darkest places of the soul. Gods, he wouldn't wish that on anybody, least of all her.

As if reading his emotions (and at this point, that was probably true), she said, "Maybe we should ask Regina if she knows what happened. I'm guessing that whatever I did to secure your heart had some side effects."

"Aye, I was thinking the same. Mind you, not all the side effects have been unpleasant. I quite relished the dream you had of me the other night." He smirked at her trying to help her lose that fear in her eyes with his usual charm.

She stared at him, mouth open, and he wanted nothing more than to kiss her cheeks that were turning a bright shad of red. "What? How did you know that?"

"Swan. Open book, remember. When I get awakened by an especially _vivid_ dream where I'm dressed in a—what did you call it in the dream?—naughty businessman's suit- and I'm having my way with you on top of my desk, I'm pretty sure I am going to quite curious where it came from the next morn. After that, it was simply a matter of paying attention to those thoughts and feelings that weren't my own."

"So you knew that this was happening?" She asked with a tinge of hostility.

He cleared his throat and gave her a stern look to assure her he hadn't been toying with her. "I wasn't sure what it was, love, all I knew was that it didn't seem particularly worrisome, and I trusted that you would sort it out if it did. Besides, it was infrequent at best. Like you said, it seemed linked to the strongest thoughts and emotions."

Emma sighed, evidently satisfied with his answer and rolled back into his arms. Over her shoulder, she said, "I still think we should see Regina. All magic comes with a price, and I'd really hate it if that price meant I was, I don't know, controlling you or draining your life force or something."

Nuzzling his beard against her ear, he replied, "Swan, you're a bloody brilliant lass, but you do say the queerest things."

…..

"Oh look. If it isn't Do-Gooder Barbie and her S&M Ken. To what do I owe the displeasure."

"Regina—" Emma corrected, mentally rolling her eyes. She thought they were past all the rude comments and scathing remarks. She thought they might be well, maybe not friends, but cordial.

With a long-suffering sigh, Regina opened the door wider, allowing them entrance into her home and waved them over to the sofa and chair. Regina was a little less polished today, actually wearing a loose blouse and a tight pair of jeans over her normal blazer and dress affairs. Emma wondered if the stress of losing Robin was finally taking its toll on her. "Is this about Gold, the town line, or something else?"

Emma glanced quickly at Killian who gave her an _it's your show_ eyebrow lift. "I guess something else."

Regina settled into a chair and appeared bored by the couple, although Emma could tell by the way her body was still tense that she was anything but. "So," Emma began sheepishly, "you know how I asked about the heart thing?""

The Queen's only response was an eye roll and a slight shrug indicating that Emma should just get to the damn point already.

"Well, here's the thing. I think I may have done something wrong."

Killian stirred uncomfortably, but as of yet hadn't tried to make his presence known. He was thinking so loudly that Regina would probably take her admission as a sign of weakness and use it to taunt her and how he was ready to jump to her defense, she could literally hear his voice in her head. She concentrated and shot back a quick mental ' _It's fine, just behave yourself'_ warning that she hoped was received. When his eyes widened and his whole body flinched at the mental intrusion, she knew he had heard her, too.

_Wow, this is really real. I'm telepathic. Fuck!_

"Why am I not surprised?" Regina commented dryly. "Perhaps you should start at the beginning and tell me _exactly_ what you did to Captain Leatherpants."

Swallowing back the quips she desperately wanted to make, Emma related exactly what she had done, explaining how the spell had transitioned into something that seemed to reverberate back into her as well.

Surprisingly, Regina didn't snap at her afterwards. In fact, she seemed genuinely concerned. "Miss Swan, what you did shouldn't have been possible."

"What did I do?" Emma and Killian exchanged worried glances, tightly holding each other's hands. "It doesn't feel like a bad thing. Is it a bad thing? How is it bad?"

Regina stared daggers at her and let out a long suffering sigh. "I didn't necessarily say it was bad, Emma. What you did was, well, it was a type of soul bond. You bond your heart and souls together. Not only are you feeling each other's feelings and seeing each other's thoughts, you are bound physically as well."

Killian sat forward, a pained look in his eye. "Does this mean our live forces are joined as well? Say one of us should perish, what would happen to the other?"

Emma felt the racing pulse of his heart in her hand. Why was he so concerned about this? Was he worried she might kill him if she died? He frowned suddenly and gave her a haunted look over his shoulder.

"Quite possible, I should say. Though, truthfully, I'm no expert in this kind of magic. This is light magic at its strongest. Light magic that I have never seen done before. You need to speak to someone better acquainted with it, Miss Swan."

"You mean the fairies?"

Regina nodded. "Yes. They would be the best source. But to the best of my knowledge, yes, this is something that could kill the both of you, and, no, Captain, I have no idea how to reverse it." She gave him a pointed stare and stood up, clearly meaning their tete-a-tete was at an end.

Killian rose, giving the Queen a curt bow and held out his hand for Emma.

Emma merely stared at it. She could see the way the fear lingered in his eyes that he was eager to find answers for a way to rid himself of this bond, and she wanted to know why. Why was he so worried about it? Was he that desperate to be rid of her?

For the first time, Emma was feeling good about something, confident about letting love into her life. And it was because of this bond. She didn't want to let it go. She wanted this connection. It was the first thing that made her feel like she was worthy and good enough and at peace with herself and her always warring emotions and…

He was still waiting, but he lowered his hand, tilting his head to the side. _Damn it. Was he reading her mind right now? Did he know everything she had been thinking?_

' _Yes, Swan. Come, let's talk about this somewhere else.'_ She heard, completely clear and loud in her thoughts. ' _Please.'_

Regina was standing by the open door, watching the silent conversation with a clear amount of interest.

Emma bit her lip, but the desperate emotions she was getting from Killian were breaking down her resolve.

"Fine," she grumbled, standing and walking past his outstretched hand. "We'll talk."

Just then, her phone rang shrilly in her pocket and a loud, thunderous noise came from outside. Emma raced to the door, Killian right behind, and followed where Regina was looking. While trying to answer her phone, she scanned the tree-lined street and sky for a sign of what was causing the explosion.

"Swan," she answered.

"Emma! Where are you? You need to get down town right away. And get Regina!" David's voice boomed against her ear.

"David, what's happening?" She asked, Regina and Killian listening in on the conversation, worry etched across their faces.

"Something…" another explosion and a clear, beastly roar… "not sure…" the phone was starting to go static-y and David's voice kept cutting out.

"Dad, I'm on my way!" She said, not waiting for a response. She turned to the two people at her side and gave them a head nod full of command. "Guess the party's over. Time to save the town again."

….

As they arrived to the center of town, all Emma could hear was the screams of the townspeople and the thud of some sort of giant _something_ hitting buildings. Cautiously, the trio rounded a corner, peering at the chaos unfolding.

She spotted David and Mary Margaret shoeing people to safety, but couldn't yet see the source of the commotion.

Suddenly a great shadow fell over them, and the leathery flap of some sort of giant wings filled the air.

"Oh, lovely." Killian quipped. "I see our monster of the week has arrived."

Emma looked up to see the enormous black shape soaring overhead, scanning the street below for its next victim.

"What the hell is that?" She cried, looking to Regina for answers.

Regina snipped, "You think I have any idea? It's not like I kept a menagerie of evil creatures in my palace."

"Didn't you?" Emma muttered, and turned back, just as the creature alighted upon the clock tower roof, its claws digging in and bat-like wings curling up around its body. Two red eyes stared at the town in satisfaction, almost as if challenging someone to come and stop it.

"You and me, Regina, we can stop this thing, or at least slow it down. Killian, go find Belle and see if you can figure out what it is or where it came from just in case we can't." Emma commanded.

Killian shot her a quick ' _Be careful, love'_ and ran off down the street, where Belle was huddled in a group of townspeople.

Regina met Emma's eye with a determined, protective glare. "This is my town, Miss Swan. No hell beast is going to take it from me."

Emma couldn't argue with that, and together both ladies stepped out into the street, arms raised and magic flowing.

Although she couldn't be sure, the second the beast caught sight of her, Emma felt a icy finger of dread slide down her spine. The creature looked at her with an almost sly smile, as if it had been waiting for her all along. Still, she couldn't let that distract her from using her magic against it.

Effortlessly the magic shot forth, blasting the monster squarely in the chest. Regina's too, hit it head on. Yet, as it cleared, the beast remained unaffected. Squaring herself up for another magical barrage, Emma took aim, and let the wave of protective light magic shoot forth.

This time, the beast roared and took to the air, soaring up, only to dive immediately back down. Before they could attack or seek cover, it swooped between Emma and Regina, using its wings to toss both ladies to opposite sides of the road in a bone-jarring collision.

Emma was the first to recover, shaking off the bruises and cuts, and regaining her fighting stance. Yards away, Regina stood up slower, taking a bit more time to ready herself.

The creature descend again, this time coming right at Emma, and she hit it with the full force of her magic. Evil intent glowed in its eyes and, as Regina also attacked, it rushed forward, using a blinding glare of purple light as a distraction, and folded Emma into its wings.

…

Regina panted as it took all of her concentration to blast the beast. She kept the magic steady, however, and soon, a bright purple glow surrounded it. It felt like she was winning.

Briefly, she wandered if Emma was able to blast it, too, as she had lost sight of her when the creature had attacked. Suddenly, the glow grew too intense, and Regina was forced to close her eyes.

After only a second, the light cut off, and as Regina refocused, her heart stopped. She had expected to see either the hulking black shape still standing in the road, or the evidence of its demise. What she didn't expect was to see absolutely nothing at all.

The creature was gone, almost as if it had never had been there at all. In confusion, Regina looked around, checking the sky to see if it was waiting for another chance to attack. But there was nothing.

Had she destroyed it? Honestly, it didn't feel like she did. Her and Emma's combined magic had barely phased it. So where was it?

And where was Emma?

She had been facing off against the monster just ahead of her, across the street. Now, she was nowhere to be seen. Had she been flung away again? Did she run off?

Regina turned to see David, Mary Margaret, Killian, and Belle all running towards her, confusion on every one of their faces as well.

"Did you kill it?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Where did it go?" Said David.

Then Killian was there, and she made the mistake of locking eyes with him. "Where's Emma?" He growled, an edge of trepidation causing him to look like his old pirate self.

The others quickly scanned the street as well, looking for the lost savior. Regina shook her head, wondering why she was feeling so upset over the woman's absence. It wasn't like they were friends. It wasn't like Regina cared about the Swan woman.

"I don't know. She was there," Regina pointed, "and the thing was standing between us. Then there was this bright light and it was just…gone. And… so was she," she finished apologetically.

Killian met her gaze with a stony blue glare. Then, suddenly, his eyes rolled back, and his face contorted in pain. David ran up, and placed a hand on his arm, as Killian fell to knees on the ground.

"Hook?" He asked, true concern in his voice. "Are you okay?"

After a moment, Killian's breath evened out and he swallowed hard. He looked up, around at all the people he knew cared for Emma, and without flinching, said, "I am, but Emma's not."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: Emma gets cursed, and begins to act a little odd. Killian returns to his former obsessions. Henry has a new Operation.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaannnnddd...we're back! My story is now officially an AU. Oh well, s'est la vie. 
> 
> I thank you all again for the very lovely comments and kudos. As always, I'm very curious to hear what you think of this story and what you think might happen next. 
> 
> Get ready, this is the one you've been waiting for...

 

It was a strange sort of false calm that had covered the town. Hardly any of Storybrooke's citizens were out, everyone still afraid that the creature that had attacked them earlier would return, and the streets were quiet. Henry and Regina were locked away with Mary Margaret and David in their loft, directing calls, scouring maps as to where Emma might have gone, organizing search parties, and basically just trying to keep themselves from falling to pieces. Belle stayed at the library, figuring she could be of more use there searching for answers. A few Merry Men and other brave souls patrolled the outskirts of the town, always keeping an eye to the skies. And the dwarves, Anton, and a few others formed their own scouting parties for the lost Savior, but with no clear leads, looking for Emma was proving to be fruitless.

Killian was unaware of it all. Ever since Emma had disappeared, he had been growing increasingly more desperate to find her. It felt like there was a deep void in his chest where long ago, Emma had staked her claim. For reasons he couldn't begin to explain, he was overcome with an impending sense of doom. Her absence was weighing heavier on him by the minute.

He paced the loft, unresponsive to the others. Furiously, he had been trying to focus completely on the bond he shared with Emma to see if he could get an image, a feeling, or even a direct thought from her. So far, all he knew for certain was that she was still alive. If it were otherwise, he knew he would have felt it, for surely his own heart would be dead as well. That knowledge, that tiny sliver of hope he allowed himself, was the only thing keeping him together.

"Hook," David said quietly, taking the man aside, out of earshot of the other occupants of the loft. "Don't worry, we'll find her."

Killian met Dave's eye with such a blaze of agony, the Prince actually took a step back. Suddenly, the fire dimmed and all that was left was a dim mask of sadness. David had known for a long time that the pirate had strong feelings for his daughter, but he hadn't realized the full extent of those feelings until now. David reminded himself not to keep underestimating this man.

"Aye," Killian replied, but there was no real conviction in it. He returned to staring out the window, watching the sun slowly sink down through the trees, casting long shadows over the town below, the dark hollows under his eyes becoming increasingly deeper.

David couldn't stand to see Killian this broken. He was a pirate, he had lived a long, hard life, and now he was breaking. He couldn't let that happen. "We have to trust her to take care of herself. She knows what she's doing."

"Don't you think I know that, Dave?" Killian seethed, while managing to keep it low enough that he didn't alert the others. "But that doesn't mean she can control everything."

"She's been in dangerous situations before—"

"Not like this," Killian said suddenly, clenching the window sill until his knuckles turned white. "This time is different, mate. I can't explain how I know it is, but I assure you, I'm telling the truth."

David studied the man before him, how his blue eyes had changed in the purple glow of the evening to a luminous silver. At that moment, David was reminded of the images of the ancient kings that had once graced the halls of Snow's castle. It was times like these when he was reminded that Killian was a captain of men and he knew what it meant to hold true to your word. Killian wasn't lying about what he said and he was so firm in his belief, that David immediately took him seriously. "Okay, tell me what you know."

This seemed to catch the pirate off guard. "You…you believe me?"

Offering him a slight grin and a wink, David replied, "I do, _mate_."

For the first time, the hopelessness left Killian's eyes, and he nodded in response. "I'm not sure how to explain it, and I fear you may not like the specifics of the ordeal…" He trailed off, looking up and David gave him a ' _just get on with it'_ shrug. Killian braced himself and continued. "Your daughter was convinced my heart needed protection. She insisted upon using her magic to ensure that my heart could no longer leave my chest without my consent, as it were. However, something went… _amiss_ with her spell."

David frowned, "Amiss how?"

Suddenly, a bright red flush came over the man's cheeks. He scratched nervously behind his ear, "You might not appreciate this part."

"What I don't appreciate is not being told when something is wrong." David huffed, squaring his shoulders and crossing his arms.

"Aye, mate." Killian sighed, looking exactly like he did in the Echo Cave before he revealed his darkest secret. In the same manner, he breathed and blurted out, "Emma bound us together somehow and now we are connected. For the particulars of the matter, you will have to ask Her Majesty."

"Bound?" _What did that mean?_ David grumbled inwardly. _And how come Regina knew of this but he and Mary Margaret hadn't been told?_

Sensing the prince's rising irritation, Killian hastened to explain, "I believe she called it a soul bond. I…uh, well, that is…we—Emma and I-share a certain kind of unusual intimacy with each other." He quickly averted his gaze, but not before seeing the heat take over David's face.

"You _what_?" David yelled, loud enough that Mary Margaret and Regina jumped at the noise. Luckily, Neal was already awake and being kept occupied by Henry or else he no doubt would have started crying.

 _Forget what I said before of the man, he's a pirate and I'm going to kill him,_ David thought furiously.

Normally, Killian never floundered for words, but at this moment, his mouth seemed to not be able to operate. (Which was probably a good thing, as David looked like he was getting ready to kill the pirate.)

Surprisingly, it was Regina who rescued him from David's wrath. "Is this about his bond thingy with Emma?" Reading the fire in David's eyes correctly and the sheepish way the pirate was behaving, Regina scoffed at the two men. "You really know how to stick your foot in it, don't you, Hook?"

If he hadn't been so distraught over losing Emma, Killian might have had several sharp come-backs for the Queen, but as it was, all he could do was imagine Emma standing there, with her cool green eyes and tight lipped frown, admonishing him for setting off her dad. Gods, he needed to get her back!

Regina clearly wasn't expecting him to answer anyway, so she turned to the prince and began to explain exactly what it was that Emma had done. However, it didn't really seem to alleviate any of David's outrage.

Mary Margaret joined the conversation halfway through, a worried expression on her brow the entire time. "So, Regina, what you are saying is that not only is Killian linked to her physically, but mentally as well?"

"Yes, it would seem so," Regina sighed. She was exhausted already from fighting off that bat out of hell and her guilt at losing track of Emma was beginning to get to her. She tried to ignore it, tried to tell herself that she didn't care about the Swan woman's well-being, but she knew she was just as worried as the rest of them for her safety. _For Henry's sake, mind you_.

Mary Margaret studied the pirate, who had returned to the window once more, a nervous energy coming off his skin in waves. It wasn't like him to not be out trying to do something to help, and clearly this self-imposed isolation was starting to wear his nerves thin. "Killian," she asked, noticing how the use of his real name always seemed to startle him, as though he wasn't quite used to people saying it, "You are alright, physically, I mean. Does that mean Emma is, too?"

He nodded at her, fully turning to see where she might be going with her questioning.

"And have you been able to connect with her at all?"

"No, milady," he replied, his voice cracking on the last syllable. "If I didn't know better, I would say she was asleep. However, I don't believe it is any sort of natural slumber, as if it were, I would still be able to read her dreams." He didn't want to explain how he had often shared in her most intimate of dreams, or how he felt like there was like an invisible string somewhere around the area of his heart that made him feel tethered to her, no matter where she was. It was like he just knew where she was at any given time, not unlike a gull knowing its way back to land.

But right now, that tether felt as though it was disconnected. Not quite severed completely. He was pretty sure that might just kill him. But it was like how the talking phone would go black after a call would end. Their connection was simply broken, and he couldn't get her end to pick up. It was becoming increasingly frustrating.

Mary Margaret and David sighed in unison as they walked away, and Killian looked to the Queen, who also seemed more upset than she was letting on. "Keep trying," was all she said, before returning to their previous duties with the Charmings.

Turning back towards the window, Killian once again cleared his mind and thought, " _Emma, love. Please answer me."_

….

Emma heard a voice. It sounded as if it was a long ways away, but she knew she needed to go towards that voice. That voice meant safety, it meant happiness, it meant _love._ Frowning, she tried to swim out of her darkness, but it was so thick, it surrounded her and kept her brain feeling like mush.

" _Emma, love. Please answer me,"_ the voice called again. Desperately, she tried to respond, to move towards it, to do anything but stay in this dark limbo.

Then a new voice began calling her. A cold, callous voice that she wanted to run not to, but from. That voice meant _danger_. She tried to fight, tried to get away, but the voice was too loud, too close, and it was pulling her towards it. Gradually, everything began swimming into focus, the darkness clearing.

She was waking up.

The second she regained full consciousness, her entire body went on alert. The last thing she could remember was that winged creature stalking closer, its red eyes fixed on her and pinning her in place. Then, everything exploded into bright, white light and she had slipped away into oblivion.

Where ever she was now was not a safe place. That much she knew.

"Miss Swan?" A voice asked. An uncomfortably familiar, _nails-on-the-chalkboard_ kind of voice.

_No…no!_

Her eyes fluttered open, and she blinked in the torch lit darkness. It was nighttime, she was outside, tied fast to a tree trunk, and the last person she ever wanted to see again was standing in front of her. There were other shapes, other people off farther out, but they didn't matter. All that mattered was… "Gold."

He grinned, his eyes semi-yellow in the fire light. "Ah, you are awake. That's good. We wouldn't want you to miss the party, after all."

"What party? Where am I, Gold?" She tugged at her binds, feeling the rough cord with the tips of her fingers. They were completely secure, not even the smallest amount of give. If Gold had bound her to a thicker tree, her shoulders would be aching right now. However, he was at least considerate enough to secure her where she wouldn't be terribly uncomfortable.

When she broke free, she'd be sure to thank him for that as she kicked his lying, heart-stealing ass.

Suddenly, she became quite aware of how precarious her situation was, and for the first time, she took an interest in Gold's other accomplices. There were three, all women, judging by the hair and clothes, but the details of their features were too hard for her to see. Never mind, didn't matter who they were, she'd figure it out eventually, and right now, Gold, with his maniacal little schemes, was her main problem.

"Well, Miss Swan. You are still within Storybrooke's borders, somewhere in the northwest woods, I'd say. And you are the honored guest at our little _soiree_." Gold expounded, giving her a little mock bow.

"If I'm your guest, why am I tied up? Couldn't you have just sent out an RSVP like a normal person," She sneered.

He chuckled. "Would you really have come if I had sent you an invitation?"

She glared and worked her hands against the ropes even harder. "I'm sure if you just asked nicely, I would have been happy to come and arrest you for _attempted murder_. Or maybe you should stop playing these games and go apologize to Belle, and Killian, and who knows who else that you've used and manipulated."

His eyes flashed with barely concealed anger for a second before he regained his always cool composure. "Now, now, Miss Swan, where's the fun in that?" His chuckle had taken on the tone of an angry hyena. "Before the festivities begin, how about I introduce you to the other guests?" He waved a hand and three females strolled from the edge of the forest to join him at his side.

"Miss Swan, I would like to introduce you to Cruella, Ursula, and…" here he broke off with a little chuckle "…well, I believe Maleficent you have already met." With each name the lady in question gave Emma a slight head tilt accompanied by a smirk.

Nope, that wasn't creepy. Not at all. Three famous villainesses all working together with Dark One. No, she wasn't worried one bit. "What is this? Are you guys forming a band? Is Gold gonna sing, 'cause I'm pretty sure there's not much of a market for aging crocodiles in Storybrooke," Emma gave Gold a death stare, and he continued as before, trying to appear completely unfazed.

"I've gathered you all together, because, as is befitting any good party, the Queens of Darkness would like to bestow a gift upon our guest of honor."

Emma knit her brow and wished more than anything that her magic was working. It seemed as if it was being contained somehow. Even her connection with Killian felt suppressed. All she had was her lie detector, and that was pinging away like crazy. "A gift? I'll let you know I don't take presents from strangers. Or crazy people." In her usual way, she fought off the rise of panic by making stupid jokes, trying to piss off her assailants enough to cause them to make a mistake. "The Queens of Darkness, by the way, is a terrible name for a band, just so you know."

But this wasn't any old perp, this was Gold. And Gold was very nearly unshakable. And she had no idea what these Queens of Darkness were capable of either. Perhaps she had best keep the taunts to a minimum and focus on finding a way out of here. Her wrist were rubbed raw already, and she was nearly positive they were cut and bloody by the way the cool night breeze was making them sting and burn. Right now, though, nothing mattered to her except getting free.

"Tsk, tsk. That isn't very polite. Especially with what I'm offering you," Gold continued. The women behind her had started watching her like she was an interesting specimen of bug and it was really starting to give her the creeps.

"I'm not interested in anything from you," she spat. Looking up, she could see the thin sliver of the moon behind the trees and she couldn't stop herself from wandering about those she loved. Was Henry okay? Her parents? Killian? Were they worried about her? Looking for her?

A year ago, she would have convinced herself that nobody would ever come, that she wasn't worthy of anyone caring about her. But now, basking in her newly accepted love, she knew better. They _were_ looking. They _would_ come, they _would_ find her. And just like in the fairy tales, they would stop Gold before he got away with whatever crazy idea was in his head this time. She just had to believe it, right?

"Oh, perhaps I should explain, then." Gold flourished his hand, and into the air in front of him appeared some sort of glass bubble. It floated lazily, bobbing slightly with the breeze, but never straying far.

Unable to stop herself, Emma asked, "What is that?"

Gold chuckled, a keening high-pitched sound she hadn't heard him make since she saw the real Rumpelstiltskin back in the Enchanted Forest. Even though they were the same person, she wasn't aware the pawn broker had ever sounded like that. It made him sound deranged. Well, more noticeably deranged than usual. Was this something to do with losing Belle?

"This, dearie, is merely a vessel for collecting dark magic. As you can see, it is perfectly empty. That is because it is waiting to be filled," and then, looking her straight in the eye, the madness far more evident now, he added, "by you."

Emma was confused. Was she supposed to go around and collect magic for him, like he had Killian do with the hat? He couldn't steal her heart to control her, so was he going to make her some sort of offer? Besides, everyone she knew with dark magic (and she wasn't about to include Regina in that mix) was standing right there in front of her.

He quickly noticed her confusion, and smiled. With another sweep of his hand, he produced one more object in thin air, holding it aloft between the pinched fingers of his left hand. In the flickering light of the torches, Emma could just barely make out a long slender, metallic shape. One that had wicked looking point on the end. A needle.

A moment later, quicker than she could blink, he pricked her lightly in the arm with it, again fighting back a little giggle as he did so. She was too shocked to register the sting, and all she could do was watch in fascination as he touched a drop of her blood to the surface of the globe.

Suddenly, the floating orb flashed with a brilliant white light, and the interior clouded over with a murky fog of red and white smoke, before settling into a pearlescent ivory color. She could see the wax and wane of the smoke, as if it was being stirred by an invisible breeze. If she hadn't been so terrified, it would have been mesmerizing.

"What you are seeing, Miss Swan, is a representation of the magic you possess. Beautiful, lovely, light magic." He ran a hand around the surface, as if caressing it. "But unfortunately for us, not suitable for our purposes."

"And what would that be?" She asked, tearing her eyes away from the globe and redoubling her efforts at the rope. _That's right, Emma. Keep him talking, give them a chance to find you._

His answering chuckle was echoed by the ladies behind him. "Why, dearie… our happy ending, of course!"

"Wait! You're after the author, too?" She said incredulously. How had they found out about him?

Gold tapped his chin with a finger and said, "Not exactly, no. Let's just say that as soon as we're done here tonight, we'll have what we need to side-step that little obstacle. After all, why would we need the author, when we could simply write our own story?"

Picturing exactly whatever twisted scenario Gold envisioned for his happy ending left Emma shuddering. No doubt the other witches would have a few _fun_ ideas of their own as well. "You're awfully sure of yourself, Crocodile," she spat, again using Killian's favorite nickname deliberately.

It definitely produced the reaction she was looking for. Gold's entire body grew rigid and his face changed into something not entirely human. "Laugh all you want, dearie, but soon enough, you'll feel differently. Soon, you'll be right here with us, on our side. It'll be like you are our Savior." His jaw clenched and for the first time, he turned away from her, stepping back to speak with the trio of ladies.

Emma shouted, "I will never help you, Gold! You are a selfish coward and a totally worthless asshole! Do you think this is what will win Belle over? How would Neal feel about what you've done? He gave his life for you, and what have you done to repay him? You're more the thing he hated now than ever!" She could tell her words were hitting home by the way his body jerked with each new accusation.

Suddenly, he spun around, striding right up to her, his eyes dark with fury. "Don't you _dare_ talk to me about _my_ son. I am doing this for him, and for Belle. I am writing the story the way I want it to be and that doesn't include losing my son to a witch with jealousy issues and my wife to—"

"Your selfish love of power?" Emma finished.

Gold seethed, breathing heavily. "Enough of this. I don't need to explain myself or my reason to you, Miss Swan. I never have. Now," he turned around once more, beckoning the witches forward, "are you ready to get the party started?"

As one, the woman answered him with a resounding "Yes!" and Gold stepped out of the way.

Emma felt the rise of panic flood over her. This was really happening, and no one had come to stop them. No one had come to rescue her. Sure, she claimed that the only one who saved her was herself, but that didn't mean she couldn't use a little help from time to time.

Her heart sank, the hope that she had been stoking and feeding flickering into ash. She watched with dawning horror as the woman joined hands, looking upwards to the dark sky, and began chanting something powerful in a language she couldn't understand.

Her body certainly felt whatever they were doing though. The magic in her veins thumped erratically, as if it were trying to break lose and escape through her skin. All she could do was continue to tug and rub against the ropes, determined to keep fighting until her last breath if need be, as the air around her swirled and pulsed with dark magic.

Suddenly, her whole body convulsed painfully, as the witches raised their hands, directing their fingers straight at her heart. She felt as if they were drawing something out of her, and her body arched against the tree, her back scraping against the bark. Biting back the scream that wanted to tear loose from her throat, she held on to whatever images of goodness she could clutch at: Henry smiling at her over hot cocoa. Her mother and father hugging her after the curse broke. The kiss with Killian outside of Granny's. And a dozens more, each one becoming as elusive as vapor as the pain increased.

Then, just as she thought the pain couldn't get any worse, the force of the magic seemed to reverse itself. Instead of feeling like it was being sucked out of her, it felt like something was being pushed in. Something dark, and cold, and terrifyingly electric. It started at her toes, winding its way up her calves, covering her thighs and torso. She could feel the thick ooze of something unpleasant working its way through her blood, her veins running rich with black ice. She tried to fight back, but a piece of her, a very small part of the farthest corner of her heart, welcomed the feeling it created. Still, as it approached her heart, she couldn't hold back her screams any longer.

Mercifully, as the darkness took hold within her and nestled itself around her heart, as the inky black began to churn together with the bright red, her mind gave up the fight and unconsciousness found her once more.

The spell completed, the Queens of Darkness stumbled back, weak from the exertion it took to enact the curse. But the deed was done. And soon enough, every bit of light magic that was in Emma would turn to darkness and there would be no return for the savior.

From a pocket in his jacket, Gold produced a small blue stone, the very same that the Snow Queen had used to extract Emma's memories once before. With a little wave of his hand, the rock glowed pink and a stream of purple magic slipped from Emma's sleeping form. "Sorry, dearie, can't have you spoiling our plans."

He turned back to the women, who were still slowly recovering their strength and announced, "And now, ladies, it is up to you to do your part. If all goes well, Emma's magic will be ours within the week."

Maleficent groaned and pulled herself up on her staff. "And where will you be, imp?"

Gold grinned maliciously. "Why, every hero needs a villain to fight," he replied cryptically. "Our deal still stands. I have the orb, and as long as you help me fill it, we shall all share in the magic."

Ursula flicked back her hair and growled. "You know what would happen to you, Gold, if you try to betray us again, right?"

"Of course, dearie. Once I make a deal, I never break it." He bowed mockingly at them and the grin slid from his face. "I will honor my pledge. As long as you… honor… yours." He answered, punctuating his words by pointing to each one individually.

Cruella pulled up the fur coat tighter on her shoulder. "Darling, as much as I'd dearly love to turn you into kibble, we would much rather win for once. We'll have no trouble helping the Savior join the right team, never fear."

With a slight head nod, Gold replied, "Never do," and vanished.

…

When Killian awoke, it was like someone was pounding a drum inside his head. What the bloody devil -had happened to him? Had he gone on another all day bender? If so, he was having possibly the worst hangover he had ever had. He ran a hand over his face and tried to push himself up off the ground.

"Whoa there, mate!" A too loud voice called out, and suddenly a pair of strong arms were pulling him to his feet.

Killian frowned, and barked, "Get your bloody hands off me, maggot!" He tried to swing loose from the steadying hold but felt himself start to pitch forward.

"Stop it, Hook! Let me help you," the voice commanded.

Killian growled, but didn't try to pull away, as the arms led him backwards to a waiting chair. Whoever had a hold of him, slipped his arm out and came to stand just in front of him, a worried look on the man's face. "What happened?"

Blinking, trying to clear the fog away from his mind, his thoughts slowly swam back into focus. "Dave?"

"Yeah. Man, you had us all really worried there for a moment. One minute we were talking about a possible lead on Emma, and the next, you were convulsing on the floor." David looked him up and down, a frown taking over his features. "Does this have something to do with that bond you mentioned? Did something happen to Emma?"

Swallowing hard with a tongue that felt like sandpaper, Killian gritted his teeth and forced himself to try to search out for the other end of his tether once more. This time, it snapped into place, like a fish on a hook. "Aye, something's happened, but I've no idea what. However, I do believe that I can now locate your daughter."

Mary Margaret rushed back from the kitchen where she had been fetching Killian a glass of water. "Really? Where is she?"

Groaning, Killian forced himself to his feet, taking the glass from Mary Margaret gratefully and downing it in one gulp. With a new-found determination flaring behind his eyes, he turned to the gathered group and said, "She's in the forest. I can take you there."

A moment later, David and Regina followed after him, Mary Margaret staying behind with Neal and Henry, whose silent anxiety of his mother's welfare was starting to show. They took David's truck to the outskirts of the forest, proceeding on foot the rest of the way. Regina, despite numerous opportunities, never once complained about traipsing through a damp, cold forest, only the silence between them punctuating the air.

Killian was far too focused on finding Emma to think about what he had felt right before he collapsed. It would do her no good if he let that memory cloud his judgment. There would be time after she was once again safe and at home to figure out what had happened, but right now, finding her was paramount.

David watched Killian's determined stride as he guided them to where he believed Emma to be. He still didn't fully understand this bond they supposedly shared, but if it was enough to locate his daughter, he wasn't about to question the method. As he walked, his mind drifted back to what had occurred only a short while ago at the loft.

One minute, Hook was fine, listening intently to the report of a strange light over the northwest corner of the forest, and the next he had fallen to the floor, face clenched in pain, holding back screams as his body arched painfully. He quickly understood that what he was seeing wasn't Hook's pain, it was Emma's, and the thought of his precious daughter being tortured in that manner almost made him snap. Thankfully, whatever happened had lasted only seconds, and seemingly Hook was now fully back to normal.

He could only hope it meant the same for his daughter.

…

Emma awoke to the frantic, hushed whispers of her family circling around her. But her thoughts were a jumble of contradictory thoughts and feelings.

_They left me. They didn't come back._

_They found me! I'm home!_

_How could they leave me again?_

_I'm safe._

_They don't love me._

_They do love me!_

It was driving her crazy. She squinted and opened her eyes, noticing first the piercing blue of Killian's relieved gaze and her fears melted away. Then, she tilted her head to see Henry, her parents, and even Regina circling around her on the sofa in her parent's loft. It made her want to cry. And, oddly, it made her want to run.

"Emma, honey! We were so worried," her mother cried, cradling her hand in her own. Emma fought off the urge to pull it back out of her grip like she was burned, and instead slipped her hand out slowly as she sat up.

"Do you know what happened to you?" David asked, his clear blue eyes shadowed with concern.

_God, did he ever stop being a damn prince for one second?_

_Wait. Where had that thought come from?_

She shook her head, not quite trusting her mouth to speak at the moment. Her eyes flitted over Killian who was watching her quite curiously, and instead she forced a smile for her son.

Henry let out a little whimper and fell into her arms. For a second, it felt as if everything was fine, it was all normal. And then, the sudden urge to just push the kid aside in revulsion, like he were some sort of leech trying to feed, welled up within in her. She shuddered under Henry's touch and fought against the thought. In her peripheral vision, she saw Killian's eyes flash darkly in sudden fear.

Before she could stop herself, she said, "Hey, um. Thanks for finding me, everybody. But I don't really have any idea what happened."

Regina jumped in, explaining about her vanishing after the fight with the monster. Emma shrugged her shoulders, "Sorry. Don't remember much about it. I recall fighting it with you, then a light, then…well, waking up here."

"Honey, you've been gone for hours," Mary Margaret replied. "We only just found you in the woods, slumped against a tree, about twenty minutes ago."

Emma frowned. Hours? There was no way she could have been out for that long and not noticed. Right? "Maybe the beast just knocked me out and left me there. Maybe it wanted me out of the fight," she offered, but the words sounded lame.

"Aye, but that wouldn't explain the nice pair of bracelets you're sporting," Killian said with a nod at her wrists.

Emma looked down and frowned. Her wrist were encircled in bright red marks, no doubt a rope burn, and there were places were here flesh had been torn and bloodied. "What the hell?" She muttered.

"I'd say you were tied up at some point, and unless that creature we saw has the most dexterous hands in the world, I doubt it was the culprit," Regina commented.

"And I'm willing to bet you were awake for at least part of your detainment, or how else would you explain the way it looks as if you were trying to free yourself from the ropes," David added. Then as an afterthought, he said, "And then there's Hook."

Emma looked up, catching the man in question's eye and frowning before turning back to her father. "What about him?"

David hesitated, unsure how much she was ready to hear. Regina seemed to have no such problem, "Your pirate had a fit about an hour ago, and we think it had something to do with your special connection."

"You told them?" She cried in embarrassment, not sure whether to blame Killian or Regina. She decided she liked the idea of blaming Regina better.

This was too much right now. She just needed space to think, she needed calm to clear her head and reassess. She needed… "I'm going for a walk," she stated, startling everyone except Killian.

"Emma! It's the middle of the night! You've been kidnapped, that… _thing_ is still out there, and so is whoever did that to you," she motioned to Emma's wrists, "do you really think leaving is a good idea right now?"

Gritting her teeth, Emma tried to fight back the wave of defensive anger she felt at her mother's words. "Yes," was all she managed, as she sat up and began looking for her coat.

Emma found her jacket, hanging off of Hook's hook, as he stood guard by the door. _'You going to stop me, pirate?_ ' She thought angrily.

Instead, he merely looked her over, his brow furrowed as if trying to piece together a particularly difficult puzzle, and said, "Love, if you don't mind, I'll be joining you. It's time for me to take my leave anyway," he added, a curt nod towards the still flabbergasted group on the other side of the room, silently indicating he would keep an eye on her.

"Fine," she said, grabbing his arm and leading him out, much to the chagrin of her parents and son. "I'll walk you home."

The second she left the loft, it felt as if she could breathe again. Even Killian beside her seemed to loosen up a bit, no doubt feeling her emotions as well. She looked up at him and offered him a genuine smile. "Thank you for not making this a big deal," she said, slipping her arm around his as they made their way into the cool night air.

"Swan, you forget, I can feel what you do now." He sighed, running his good hand through his hair. "Something happened to you out there in the woods. I've no idea what it was, but there is something different about you."

Pulling slightly away, she frowned up at him, "What do you mean?"

He sighed, shaking his head as if to clear it and pulled her back tightly. "I don't know, love. And that frightens me terribly."

She wondered why his clingy, morose nature wasn't bothering her more. She knew with certainty that if it were Mary Margaret or David walking with her now, she would be itching to get away. But with Killian, she almost felt the exact opposite. Being back in his arms made her feel better than she had all night. Her heart felt light again and her thoughts were less confusing. "Killian, look, I'm back, I'm safe. I'm also way more tired than I realized. I think for now, we should leave it. If there is something wrong, I trust you to fix it."

Immediately his whole body changed. It was if she had doused him with liquid calm. He smiled down at her warmly, and pulled her in closer to his heat. Placing a small kiss on top of her head, he tangled his hand in her hair and let out a deep, shuddering breath, finally releasing all the emotions of the day.

As they approached his room, he encircled her in his arms, bending down for a needy, desperate kiss. She kissed him back with equal measure, letting their shared emotions vibrate between them. In his arms, like this, everything else just went away. The way he licked and suckled at her lips drove away all the nagging fears she hadn't even realized she had been holding onto.

All too soon, however, he pulled back, and with a final, quick peck on her nose, he said, "Go home, love. Be with your family. They need to know you're alright, too."

She nodded. Now, she could quite clearly see just how she had hurt them by running away earlier, and she knew he was right. "Okay, but I'm meeting up with you for coffee first thing tomorrow morning and then, we are going to find out what the hell happened to me," she declared with confident determination. The kind that was only brought out in his presence.

Killian chuckled, and the inky cold feeling that had been nipping at her skin all night was driven away. "I do like the sound of that, my fiery lass," he kissed her again, this time full of reassurance and care, and whispered, "G'night, my love."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: What's a Dark!Savior to do? And can Killian keep Hook at bay? Also, isn't having magic simply intoxicating. I wonder why Emma hasn't used it far more often...
> 
> Comments?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. Hopefully, the cutesy CS moment in this chapter makes up for it. Lot's happening here internal thoughts-wise, not a whole lot of action. That will come later... ;)
> 
> Again, I thank everyone for reading and commenting. I so love to hear what you think might happen with Emma or Killian in this story. I hope there's some good clues as to where it's heading in this chapter.
> 
> I can't wait to hear from you!

As drained and exhausted as he was, Killian knew he would get no sleep tonight. The sheer relief he had felt when he had come upon Emma's unconscious body in the woods couldn't outweigh the cold knot of fear that began when he saw her face as she held her son and talked to her parents. Something terribly wrong was happening to her. Although he was undeniably grateful that she was at least back safe and sound, he was more positive than ever that whatever had occurred to her while she was gone was far from over.

That meant that someone had been responsible for all of this. Someone had tied her up and inflicted some sort of pain upon her. Someone had planned all this for some kind of nefarious reason. And he knew that someone had to be the Crocodile.

Just thinking about the Dark One made every muscle in his body lock tight. Like a plank of wood, he stared at the ceiling, unable to find comfort in his own bed. At best, Gold made him agitated. At worst, Gold made him murderous. Now, Killian was teetering precariously on the ledge between the two.

The question became what would he do if he came face-to-face with Gold again? Before, he had put his vengeance aside to prove to Emma (and himself) that he could be the type of man she deserved. A man of honor. But really, where had that gotten him? Gold had nearly killed Emma, he had stolen his heart and forced him to do unspeakable things, and he had very nearly died.

The Dark One needed to be stopped, once and for all, before he could hurt anyone else.

And now, Killian finally had the means in his grasp. He had the dagger. Everyone would be safe, now and forever, from the schemes and plots of that imp. The only problem was, killing Gold with the dagger would mean the murderer would have to take his place as the next Dark One.

Killian was afraid to die, or to kill. He never had been. But killing Gold and taking his place would mean not only breaking his promise to Emma, but possibly reverting back to his old self. Captain Hook at his worst made infinitely more powerful with the Dark One's magic. Would he be able to withstand the pull of dark magic? Could he resist temptation and keep the people he cared about safe from himself? Rumpelstiltskin, the coward, had never been able to shake free, even with the unconditional love offered him by his Belle. What would make him any different?

Killian sighed, running a hand through his hair and down along his face. He could feel the sore bruise of exhaustion under his eyes. Was this why he had taken so many precautions hiding the dagger? Had he suspected that there might come a day where he would be tempted to use it? Like a true pirate, the dagger could only be reached by a complicated process, with multiple booby traps, false leads, and dangerous obstacles. As good as he was, he would have a difficult time recovering it. Right now, he was glad of it, because the way his rage was starting to become harder to ignore meant that it was only a matter of time before he would go after it.

He could only hope Emma could defeat Gold before that could happen.

Fuming and frustrated, Killian shifted his body, trying to find any comfort he could. He was having to constantly fight his own warring mind to remind himself that he couldn't afford to go back down that dark path again. He had a life here, with friends, with people who needed him. Those connections he had longed for all his life. He had Emma. And she needed him. There had to be a way to find out what was wrong with her, to help her get back to the place where she was before. She was just starting to accept that she could be happy with him, that she had people in her life who truly loved and cared for her. She had hope again.

Knowing rest would never find him this night, Killian did something he hadn't done in months: He needed a drink. As he searched his room for his flask, he realized he hadn't felt the need, really, since that night at Granny's when they shared that kiss and she finally acknowledged her affections towards him. Finding the flask tucked into a drawer containing his undergarments, he wasted no time downing the familiar liquid. It had been so long, the rum actually burned as it went down. It wouldn't take much to becalm his heart and allow him to block out his thoughts.

He returned to bed, flask in hand, and once more stared at the ceiling. His eyes grew heavy and just before he drifted off, he made himself a promise: No matter what the cost to himself, he would do everything in his power to ensure that Emma never lost hope again.

And gods help the person (or crocodile) that stood in his way.

….

Gold sat alone in an abandoned shack, far into the forest and away from anyone who might come snooping. The glass orb spun lazily just above the wooden table where he sat. With a wave of his hand, a fire blazed to life in the hearth, but he barely felt the heat.

The opalescent smoke inside the orb was now streaked with thin strands of black, the two colors diametrically opposed as they swirled about. He had been watching it for hours, ever since leaving Miss Swan in the woods. Hypnotized by the ebb and flow, he became lost in his thoughts. _Belle. The dagger. Bae. Power. Magic._

Deep frown lines etched themselves around his mouth. He needed to be free. He needed to get his wife back. To rewrite his story so that he was the hero for a change. He couldn't let it end this way, with him broken and alone. He was the Dark One! Yes, the curse was working, but it was going far too slowly for his limited patience. And if the smiles he had seen Belle throwing that dirty thief were any indication, the next phase couldn't start too soon. Unfortunately, it relied upon three witches who would rather kill him than trust him. Luckily, their betrayal was essential to his plan.

All he had told the ladies was to find a way to befriend Emma Swan, to get her to trust them, and then to convince her that magic was power. However, they didn't know Miss Swan like he did. She would never trust them on her own, she would have to be convinced of their sincerity by more than just words. And nothing would bring two foes together more than a shared threat. Neverland had proved that to him.

That was one of the reasons he had freed the Chernabog in the first place. The creature would be a significant enough danger that Emma could easily be persuaded to use her magic a bit more liberally. And that was the key. The more she relied on her magic, the more she would be tempted by it, and the more the darkness would take root. It would then be a simple enough matter to turn her against the people she loved.

Gold smirked to himself, snatching up the orb and stowing it safely away in his pocket. Now that he knew exactly what to do, he couldn't wait to get started. And the joy of breaking the pirate's heart before he killed him would just be icing on the proverbial cake.

Summoning up his powers, Gold flung open the cabin door. He had work to do.

…

Just before dawn, Emma awoke. For some reason, being at home in her parent's loft was making her feel irritable, almost like a headache starting just behind her eyes. She just couldn't seem to get comfortable. Not in her own bed, in her own clothes, or even in her own skin.

Scrunching up her face, she peered through the curtains to watch the first rays of dawn lighten the Eastern sky. Normally, watching the sunrise (while extremely rare) brought her a sense of peace that nothing else could. A reminder that the day had not yet been written and that good things could still happen. She supposed her mother's optimism must finally be rubbing off on her.

But not today. Right now, she would give anything for a greyed-out, stormy day. One that matched her mood.

Slipping from her bed, she made her way to the bathroom, careful not to make any noise to wake her parents, because the very thought of Mary Margaret's wide-eyed optimism, or David's fatherly concern was making her cringe. She took a quick shower, dressed in an outfit she hadn't worn since first arriving to Storybrooke, and took a good long look at herself in the mirror.

What was wrong with her? She shouldn't dread talking to her parents. And the way she felt as Henry hugged her? That wasn't the way a good mother was supposed to react. Was this all because of what happened to her in the woods, as Killian suspected, or was this just all her past insecurities finally catching up to her? It wouldn't be the first time. How many times had things been starting to feel right, to feel perfect, only to get derailed when her internal alarms started telling her to run, to not trust because it was only a matter of time before she got burned again?

So was that what all this was about? Was she just protecting herself again? And if so, what was she going to do about it?

Every time she felt this way in the past, she had run. She had closed herself off, and just flew. Yes, she had told Killian she was tired of living in the past, told her son that she wasn't going anywhere, and at the time, she had really thought she meant it. But maybe she had just been lying to herself. Maybe she was just destined to be alone after all.

She sighed and scrubbed at her face with her palms. When her cheeks were red and her eyes cleared of any trace of tears, she felt a deep longing to share her pain with the one person who would understand. Suddenly, she had a flash of inspiration. Closing her eyes, she focused on him, on her need to see him, until she felt the rush of magic through her skin. As her fingers sparked, she noticed that the irritability and headache were gone. It was like she was her old self again. Scratch that. Using her magic made her feel even better. Giddy almost.

 _Hmm. Maybe having magic is like drinking a lot of coffee, and when you don't use it enough, you go into withdrawals._ She made a mental note to ask Regina about that later. Right now, she had someone else she needed to see.

When she looked up, the mirror in front of her shimmered as the image was replaced with a familiar floral-wallpaper scene. And there he was, lying on his bed, facing away from her. Strangely, he was still wearing his clothes from the night before and there was a tension in his shoulders that Emma could tell meant he had probably dropped from exhaustion and not from any normal desire to rest. _What was that about? He seemed fine when I left._ She searched out his emotions through the connection, but couldn't get a read on him.

She frowned, and felt her heart ache for him. "Killian," she whispered, calling softly through the mirror. As if expecting her, he immediately flipped around, eyes bloodshot and weary.

"Swan?" He gasped, clearly not expecting her to be 'magic'ing herself through a mirror into his room this early in the morning. Normally, he'd greet her with a snarky come-on, but all she got this morning was a "Bloody hell!"

She giggled at him and all his irritation melted into an exasperated sigh. "Not that I don't appreciate seeing your beautiful visage upon awaking, but a little bit of warning may be in order next time."

She smirked. "Aw, did I frighten the mean old pirate?"

Killian massaged the crease in his brow, but offered her a ghost of smile, "If seeing you smile at me like that means I'll never be able to let down my guard, then it's a cross I'm willing to bear. But why not come here and see what kind of a revenge this 'mean old pirate' can inflict. It's not nice to taunt a pirate, love."

Batting her eyes playfully, she licked her bottom lip. "Maybe not, but it sure is fun." She trailed a finger along the glass of the mirror, outlining his image within it, purposefully not looking at him. She sighed as if she was bored. "And I can't come over there, I have to get ready for work."

"Swan—" Killian growled, clutching at his bed clothes to keep from springing up and inadvertently smashing the mirror in an attempt to ravage her. "Bad form, tempting a man with no means of reciprocity."

"Jones, it's bad form to be so damn tempting," she mocked.

Killian's eyes went dark, and he growled again, louder. "Swan, while this _diversion_ has been quite entertaining, I must insist upon _inspecting_ the real thing."

"Insist, eh?" She pouted, loving the way she had him wrapped around her finger. "How are you going to do that? I'm shuttered up tight here at Chez Charming. You're aaaaallllllllll the way over at Granny's…" As she drew out her words, her fingers traced slow, suggestive patterns onto the glass.

"Swan—" he whispered.

"Plus, I don't feel like going out in this weather," she sighed, glancing through the window at the perfectly sunny (and no doubt warm) day. "But if you come here, you know my father would have no problem arresting you for disturbing the peace. Especially since he and mom haven't been getting much sleep lately. And Henry's here."

"Swan—"

"But I suppose I could be persuaded, say with coffee and pancakes, to come over to your place, even though..."

"Emma!" Killian barked, forcing her to look at him. As she did, she suddenly saw a flash of banked fire in his eyes and a twinkle of mischief, before she was overcome with an image (a very lifelike and _colorful_ image) of her being carted out of her loft like a rum barrel over his shoulder, while she flailed and kicked, and he laughed darkly. The image kept shifting. At first, he threw her up against the wall outside of his apartment and ravaged her until she couldn't stand. Then, he was taking her against the mast of his ship, as she was screaming for more. And just when she thought she had regained some semblance of control over the fantasies he was barraging her with, she swore she could feel the ghosting of his hands along her inner thighs and over her stomach. Through it all, she hadn't been able to move, hell, she had hardly been able to breathe, and was only remaining upright due to her iron grip on the granite countertop. " _Oh, god. Killian stop, oh please. I'm not…"_

She whimpered and begged and clenched her thighs together, but nothing helped and now all she could see was Killian's smug grin. " _I warned you, lass. You knew you were playing with fire."_ She wanted to attack, to send her own assault his way, but her brain was refusing to cooperate.

"Damn it, Jones, how the hell am I supposed to make it over there now? I can't even walk." She said, letting her face show just how much torture she was in.

Instantly the ghostly touches and erotic imagery ceased, leaving her feeling empty and cold.

"Ten minutes, Swan," he commanded.

Her face twisted into a cocky smile. "I'll be there in five."

…

Perhaps it was the buzz of her magic, perhaps it was her pirate and his _oh so vivid_ of an imagination, but Emma felt lighter than air. Like she could literally fly if she wanted to.

Emma's good mood persisted through breakfast at Granny's, with Killian sitting across from her sipping his coffee and occasionally giving her smug little grins (while she kept blushing from memories of the mornings _activities_ ), all the way until entering the Sheriff's Station and hearing her father fielding calls.

"Yes, ma'am. I understand that you are worried, and I assure you, we are doing all we can to minimize the threat."

There was a long pause on his end while David rolled his eyes and raised a hand at her in greeting before he continued, "Well, let me just say that as far as I know, the monster was not after the food supply. I see no reason why you shouldn't be able to get your groceries, taking reasonable precautions that is."

Another pointed pause. Emma can almost hear the whiny buzz of the voice coming from the other end of the phone. Walking past him into her office, she gathered her files instead, checking to see if she had any messages on her desk. Already, she felt the headache trying to rear its ugly head.

"Yes, of course. No, no," David ran a hand through his hair, "you have a nice day, Mrs. Sprat." He hung up the phone with slightly more force than was necessary.

Emma shook her head, the pressure behind her eyes returning. Honestly, why was she the Savior again? Why was she bothering to save these ungrateful people when all they did was bitch and moan about it?

There was a knock on the door, then David swung his head inside her office. "You go out for breakfast this morning?"

She nodded, pretending like she was looking over an important file so that she wouldn't have to explain herself. Again.

His eye twitched, but luckily, he didn't press her for any details. "Any news about the hell beast? Or Maleficent?" She was too busy avoiding him to see his frown when mentioning her name. "Or Gold? Leroy, Doc, Tom, and Anton have finished their patrols, but haven't found any sign of the thing. The merry men think they spotted some sort of trail near where you were taken, but so far, nothing's panned out." He sighed and picked at the door frame.

"Have you talked to Belle today?"

She shook her head, pinching her brow to relieve some of the ache.

"So we still don't know what it was." Turning to the side, he leaned back against the door, lost in thought. "Do you think there's a connection here? It's a bit of a strange coincidence all of this happening at once, right? I mean, first we have a report of Gold being back, which we can't prove. Then, freaking Maleficent is released. Now, some sort of unnamed monster attacks you. I just don't like any of this."

She shrugged noncommittally. For some reason, the sound of his voice, the tone of his words was a bit like a nail running over glass. It made the nerves in her spine clench painfully. All she could do was to continue her ruse of sorting through the reports and hope he wouldn't find out she was trying to ignore him.

He continued to stand at the doorway, never even noticing her continued silence.

Rolling her neck to relieve the tension that was mounting, Emma sighed. "This is a waste of time."

For the first time, David really looked at her, took in her pained expression and started giving her that puppy-eyed, 'talk to me' look that was making her dig her nails into her palms. With a slight smile, he said, "Emma, come on. We'll figure it out. I know you're worried about everyone, but we're all working on it and I'm sure we'll keep the town safe."

She nearly snorted in her coffee. That's what he thought she was upset about? Protecting the town? God, sometimes she wondered how he could call himself her father when he didn't really know her at all. "I'm going on patrol," she announced, grabbing her keys and coffee and striding for the door.

To his credit, he didn't try to stop her. "Okay. Be careful."

Without turning, she replied, "I'll be fine." For some reason, her lips twitched up into a smile. _Unlike you._

…..

The patrol around town did little to quell her irritation. If anything, it only furthered it. Walking around was really just confirming her opinion of the people in this town. Most that she passed looked frightened and edgy. An occasional few gave her a terse nod, as if she was somehow responsible for all the monsters and magic that kept uprooting them and didn't want to piss her off. It sort of made her feel…like a villain.

Why was she the Savior again? Had she really ever saved anyone? No. All she did was break a stupid curse. Yet, it was like everyone expected her to wave a magic wand and poof away their problems.

They needed to deal with their own problems. Why did she have to be the one to fix everything? What had it gained her anyway? Being 'The Savior' meant growing up an orphan. Being 'The Savior' meant Neal had left her. Being 'The Savior' meant that her life was constantly on hold, that she was never allowed to just be happy.

Did they even appreciate all that she did for them?

_Help us! We need a savior. Who cares if she has to grow up alone and unloved? Oh, no, the Snow Queen's going to destroy the town! Better call Emma. Never mind that she has to watch a woman she once cared about kill herself. Oh, the Wicked Witch is here! Well, Emma, why don't you just give up a near perfect life in New York so that you now have to forcibly remind yourself that Regina's fake memories are not your own every time you look at your son?_

God, it was a miracle she could make it out of bed in the mornings.

Sighing deeply, she knew she was being unfair. Most of the town was filled with good people who she genuinely cared about and knew cared about her. But some days, like today apparently, she just wanted to be a little selfish for once.

She continued to walk around, not paying the slightest attention to where she was headed. She was just glad to feel the burn in her legs to help distract her from the headache. As she ran a hand through her wind-blown hair, Emma looked up just in time to crash into a woman walking the other way down the sidewalk. The bag of groceries she was carrying scattered and Emma hit the pavement with a bone-jarring thud. Emma hissed as she looked at the scratches on her palm and knees. _Great. Just the perfect ending to a crappy day._

"I'm so sorry," the woman cried, holding out a hand to help Emma up, "I was on my phone and just…I'm so sorry." The tone was warm and sincere and Emma accepted the woman's help reluctantly. Emma took in her appearance, her kelp green jacket, camo colored pants, blonde-brown hair, and dark brown eyes, but didn't recognize her.

"It's alright, I was wrapped up in my head and wasn't watching either," Emma mumbled, bending over to help retrieve the lady's spilled groceries. She placed a couple of oranges into the bag and went to retrieve the canned tuna.

Suddenly, the woman stopped her gathering and stood up, straightening her scale-like jacket and asked, "Aren't you Emma Swan, the Savior?"

Flinching, Emma quickly dumped off her pile of food and dusted her hands on her torn jeans. "That's me. I guess my reputation really does precede me," she replied bitterly.

The woman didn't seem fazed and merely offered her a polite smile. "Actually, I've been looking for you."

Suddenly, Emma's defenses went up. She crossed her arms and took a more appraising look at this woman. She seemed confident and tough, her dark brown eyes meeting Emma's own with easy surety.

Noting Emma's posture, the woman shrugged and said, "Name's Ursula."

Emma snorted, because really, she should be used to this by now. "Okay. So where's Flounder?" She snarked.

Ursula gave her an ugly glare, crossing her arms. "You know, I'm quite aware how this world portrays me. It's repulsive and unflattering."

Instantly, Emma felt ashamed of her assumptions and apologized. "So, why were you looking for me?" Emma asked, trying to get this conversation back on more even footing.

For a second, Ursula's eye shifted away, and Emma smiled to herself. _Gotcha_. "I met an old…well, I suppose _friend_ isn't quite an appropriate term…. Let's just say, I met someone in New York who knows you," she sighed. "Goes by Mr. Gold nowadays. Although, when I knew him, it was Rumpelstiltskin."

"You met Gold in New York? What were you doing in New York?" Emma demanded.

Lifting her chin defiantly, Ursula replied, "I live there, have for many years. That stingy bastard actually convinced me to let him stay at my place. Ate all my food and never paid for a damn thing. Frankly, I should have let him freeze to death on the streets." Ursula added, shifting the grocery bag to her other hip.

"Why didn't you?"

The sea witch's eyes darted away again, and she pursed her lips. "Truthfully? I was intrigued. He kept spouting all his usual bullshit about grand plans and happy endings. I know I shouldn't have after last time, but…well, I believed him."

Emma narrowed her eyes. Nothing this woman had told her had been a lie so far. So what was she playing at? Was she a villain, like her story said? Emma had learned enough to know that not all supposed villains really were bad. And really, she didn't know much about her story anyway. The lady before her didn't strike Emma as being particularly villainous, unless she planned on cooking dinner for the town and serving them poisoned food. Still, she was involved with Gold, and that set off all of her alarms.

"So you're working with Gold now? Is that why you're in Storybrooke?"

Drumming her free hand against the grocery bag, Ursula replied haughtily, "Look. I'll admit, I bought what the imp was peddling. I mean, it sounded nice…getting my happy ending and all that. But the more time I spent with him, the more he talked, the more I could tell he had finally lost the rest of his tiny little mind." She looked up, meeting Emma's eye once again. "There was one thing he said, though, that stuck with me. He kept talking about this town. How villains could find redemption here. Even acceptance. And then, he talked about you. How you were 'The Savior,' how it was your destiny to bring back the happy endings. I don't know," she shrugged. "I thought I should come and check it out for myself."

"So, you're here to what? Start over? Make up for all the bad stuff you've done?" Emma scoffed, but not unkindly. It was more that she really wasn't sure it should be this easy.

"Why not," Ursula answered with a small shrug. Her eyes were still trained on Emma and she could see something achingly familiar in them. Something she recognized in herself. "You have to understand, the 'bad stuff' I've done, wasn't really something I had control over. Did you know my father is a god? Triton, God of the oceans. Making deals for souls, that's just part of our make-up. I'm not proud of it, but I'm stuck here now, and I've seen how much it sucks to be on the other end of those deals."

"So what's your happy ending then? Because if you're here to harm anyone…" She trailed off leaving the rest as a vague implied threat.

Now, the sea witch looked completely offended. With a loud, defensive voice, she replied, "I've been here a week, Miss Swan. Have you seen me or heard a peep from me? I'm not here to cause problems for the people of Storybrooke. I'm here for myself."

Emma swallowed. She hated that she was beginning to believe this woman, especially since she really knew nothing about her, but there was only truth and sincerity in her words. Didn't she owe it to her to give her the benefit of the doubt at least? "Okay. I get it. You're going to play nice. Still, it doesn't tell me why you need me?"

"I want to help. I want to prove myself to you, because there are always going to be people who look at me as a villain because of my past. And if I can win you over, convince the Savior, well, maybe I can prove to everyone else that I really have changed." It was a pretty heartfelt speech, and Emma couldn't help but be moved. It sounded eerily similar to the thoughts of both an ex-pirate and ex-Evil Queen that she knew.

"But why go against Gold? Why come to team Hero?"

Ursula's eyes flashed in anger. "That man broke a deal with me many years ago and was responsible for my banishment to this realm. I want to see him pay for it."

In shock over the vehemence of the sea witch's words, Emma replied, "Okay. What can you do to help us?"

"I know about the monster that attacked you. It's called the Chernabog."

A little warning ticked off in Emma's head. "Wait! Did you have anything to do with the attack?"

"No," Ursula denied, rolling her eyes. "That was all Gold. Part of his rambles in New York involved a plan to release that creature and force it to go after the people he wanted revenge on."

Emma shoved her hands into her back pocket to keep from digging her nails into her already injured palms. "How is he doing that? Controlling it? And how can we stop it? Regina and I both went up against it and we were no match for it."

"When you were fighting the Chernabog, did you notice a collar?" She paused a moment in thought before adding, "Maybe a belt?"

In Emma's memory, the creature floated above her, glowing reds eyes, large leathery wings, and a bright metallic object around its waist. "A belt! There was definitely a belt."

Ursula nodded. "That's the physical manifestation of Gold's control. If you can destroy the belt, you'll break his hold and the beast will be free to return whence it came."

Questions circled Emma's head. "Won't it just go after people at random then?"

"No, that's not how the Chernabog works. A creature like that is made to go after only those with the most potential for dark magic."

Dark magic. Who in town had dark magic that might get hurt? There was only one name she could think of. "Gold. Are you saying it would go after Gold?"

The sea witch sighed, pushing back her long curls, and shifted her bag again. "I don't know. But it won't hurt anyone without magic and it won't hurt good people."

"So how do I destroy this belt?"

Suddenly, the air around them grew colder. Darker. "Magic. Strong, confident magic," Ursula replied with a flash of something in her eyes.

Emma bit her lip. True, she had gotten much better with her magic, it was easier to access and control. But there were limits to what she could do. _Strong, confident magic._ She had already tackled the Chernabog before and failed, how could she go up against it again?

As if reading her mind, Ursula, held out her hand, "Hey, um, you know, I could teach you. And before you protest, let me just say that this isn't a deal or anything. I just want to help you reach your potential. You know, I've been around a long time. Seen a lot of magic users. I know that you have great power within you. You could be doing so much more."

Emma scoffed at the notion. Sure she had been told of her potential before, but that didn't mean it was true. "Yeah? But doesn't all magic come with a price?"

Smiling, Ursula placed a warm hand on Emma's arm. "Not light magic. Not people born with a natural talent like yours. I mean, that's like saying you pay a price for breathing or eating. Your magic is as essential to you as both."

"Tell that to an obese person. But I get what you're saying." Emma noticed the slightly crest-fallen look on the woman's face. _She just wanted to help,_ Emma reminded herself. "I'll think about it," she added with a sincere smile of her own.

"Alright. Fair enough. Look, let me give you my number. Should you need my help on anything, or you reconsider my offer, call me."

Quickly agreeing, Emma typed in the number Ursula rattled off into her phone.

"Thank you." Flushing lightly, the sea witch stepped back. In a small, hesitant voice, she added, "Um, Emma, there's just one favor I have to ask of you. Is there… Could you please keep this meeting just between us? Like I said, people will judge me based on my reputation and I want the chance to prove myself first."

Nodding, Emma agreed. "Thanks for the tip off about Gold and that Cherna-thing. I really will think about what you've said, I promise."

"That's all I ask," Ursula replied, scooping her bag up and nodding a farewell.

Emma watched her walk away, replaying the conversation on a loop until she was convinced of the woman's sincerity. Still clutching her phone, she sent off a text to Belle about the Chernabog and asked her to look into it. As she noticed the time, Emma realized she had been out most of the day and her shift was nearly over.

Reluctantly she headed back to the station. Talking with Ursula had actually made her feel quite a bit better about her situation. The headache had retreated and her thoughts had stopped spiraling. Perhaps all she needed was a direction again. A way to fight back.

She would need to practice her magic. Maybe Ursula's offer was real. Yes, Regina could teach her a lot, but sometimes, it was still awkward going to her for lessons. It was a little bit like high school all over again. Regina was a tough teacher, always putting her down when she didn't give her all. Would it be different to learn magic from someone else? And what could Ursula teach her that Regina didn't know?

A warm, giddy rush came over her. Maybe she could show Regina up for once with some sort of fancy trick that she couldn't do. Emma smiled to herself, biting her lip. Wouldn't that be hilarious? Wouldn't that just serve her right?

The idea of working with Ursula was more appealing by the second.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: Magic practice. Henry notices things. Killian doesn't.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long for an update. I finally decided to break this chapter up. I was going to do a really long chapter, but it started to get away from me. I will probably have the next part up soon, however, as it is mostly finished.
> 
> Here is where the angst really sets in... Keep in mind Killian and Emma's personalities keep shifting as the darkness takes hold. Neither are aware of it and fluctuate often between their normal selves and their darker versions.
> 
> I'd love to hear from you, readers. Writing good people gone bad is especially difficult, so I am very curious what you think.

"So, Mom, are you going to come over and help look for clues about the Author again?" Henry asked, interspersing the question with gulps of cereal. He gave her a pleading wide-eyed look that he knew she could never resist.

"Mmm," Emma mumbled, staring at the morning's paper intently, nibbling at her toast, and rubbing circles over her eyes like she had a headache. "Not today, kid."

"But—" Henry started, then frowned as he noticed his mother was glaring at him.

"Don't start. You know how busy I am tracking down Batman. Besides, it's not as if you and Regina have made any more progress finding this guy, right?"

"Or girl," Henry corrected.

"Or girl," Emma huffed, rolling her eyes in a not-quite-playful way. If Henry didn't know better, he would almost say she was actually annoyed with him.

And there was something about the hard edge of her tone that had him super uneasy. Something was wrong, he could feel it. "Yeah. I suppose. It's okay, Mom. I'll just head over to Regina's on my own."

"Great." She nodded absently and returned to looking at the paper and ignoring him. Henry quickly gathered up his things and ran up to his room in a state of near panic. What was he going to do? Should he tell Gram and Gramps? His other mom? Killian? Would anyone believe him?

It was so unlike her to blow him off, even when she was super busy and facing the worst villains, she had always made time for him. But this…coldness? And she had promised to help with looking for clues for the author today. She had been pretty excited about it, he thought.

This was weird. His mom wasn't acting like herself at all, and he hadn't been this freaked out since before the curse was broken.

Henry stopped his pacing and forced himself to calm down. _Okay, stay calm. Think about it. What would Emma do? How would she deal if she noticed something wrong with you?_

When Pan had done that body-swap thing, his mom had noticed then. And what had she done? She had watched him, kept an eye on him, and never once doubted her instincts. So that was what he needed to do now.

He needed to trust his gut, just like she did hers.

Cautiously, Henry opened the door to his room and peered out over the stairway railing. His mom was still at the counter, but she was peering off into space like she was lost in thought, her chin resting on her balled up fist. There wasn't anything specific about her posture that seemed different, but he just knew there was, like he had known there was something wrong with the town all those years ago. Suddenly, Emma's face broke into a wicked grin and she waved her hand in the air. At once, all the clothes she had on were replaced by a new outfit. It was all black. Black leggings, black sweater, black leather jacket. Tall black leather boots. Even her hair was styled differently- curled and pulled back into a high ponytail. Had his mom just done a magical wardrobe change? Why? Emma never did stuff like that. And what was she wearing? If Henry didn't know better, he would say his mom was trying to dress… like a villain.

 _Or a pirate_ , he thought, mentally smacking himself for not seeing the obvious _._ Maybe that was it. Maybe she was just trying to look nice for Killian.

He sighed and all the tension bled out of him. Nothing was wrong with his mom, she was just in love. _Love was confusing_. He wondered if he would act like that if he ever fell in love. With a shudder, he thought, _I hope not._

As he was about to go back into his room, Henry saw her get out her phone and make a call. She had a strange look on her face, almost as if she was scared. Why would his mom be afraid of talking to someone? Was it bad news? He leaned over farther, anxiously listening and what he heard shook him to his core.

…..

Heart pounding, Emma picked up her phone and dialed. It was answered on the third ring.

"Hello?"

"Um, Ursula, this is Emma," she began, wondering why she sounded so nervous. It wasn't like this was a big deal.

"Oh! Emma. Hi! I'm glad you called," the woman sounded brighter and cheerier than she had the night before, and Emma wondered if their meeting had something to do with it.

"Yeah, so… I was thinking. About your offer." She took a deep breath, "And I'm in."

There was a silence for a beat before Ursula answered. "Really? You want me to teach you magic?"

"Yep. You were right. I need more magic to defeat the hell beast." _Come on, Emma, that's not the only reason and you know it._ "So, how do you want to do this?"

Ursula laughed good-naturedly and said, "Well, why don't you come over to my place. It's a bit out of the way, but we won't be interrupted out there by any nosy townsfolk."

"Okay, sure. Text me the address and I'll be there in an hour."

As she hung up, Emma saw the address pop up on her screen and she slid her phone into her pants. She was practically giggling with excitement over what she was about to do.

Just then, Henry came sprinting downstairs, his fairy tale book in hand, and looking at her with something like… _fright_? "Mom? Are you okay?"

Like a faucet being turned off, her smile disappeared. "Sure, kid. I'm really great. I just got some good news. Are you leaving?"

Henry narrowed his eyes, like he was studying her carefully. _Seriously, what was with him today?_ Clutching the book tighter, he gave her a curt nod.

"Okay. Have fun," she said with a confused shake of her head, but lacking any real feelings about it one way or the other. Frankly, she was glad Regina was keeping him busy with this 'author' nonsense, because then he would be out of her hair and she could focus on what was really important: her magic.

_Wait. What? Where had that come from?_

Feeling a bit sickened with herself, she turned to apologize to her son, but he was already out the door. With a sigh, she vowed to make it up to him later. Maybe she would even show off some of her new skills to impress him. He'd probably love that. With another little flourish, a cup of coffee appeared in her hand, and the butterflies returned again.

…..

Knocking. Bloody knocking. Who the hell was knocking this bloody early?

"Killian?" Came a small, timid voice. Not Swan. Swan's son.

He groaned and dragged himself out of bed, his head aching with the remnants of last night's rum binge. "Henry?" He said, throwing open the door. "What the devil are you doing here, lad?"

Typical of himself, Henry spilled into the room and announced, "Killian, you have to help my mom."

"Aye? Do you have any idea how bloody early it is?" He walked over to his desk and shook the bottle to see if anything was left. With a sneer, he threw the empty bottle in the trash. "What is it this time, eh?"

Henry jumped up on top of Killian's bed and he could hear the distinctive clatter of empty bottles underneath.

"Something's wrong," Henry said, giving his a look that was both serious and worried.

Clenching his jaw as a sudden sharp pain flared behind his eye, he shook his head. "Sorry, lad, but you're going to need to be a bit more specific if you want me to help," he said harshly.

Henry looked up at him, _really_ looked at him, and frowned. "It's hard to explain."

Killian rolled his eyes. "Of course it is," he mumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose hoping to alleviate the thundering ache.

The boy gave him a glare that rivaled his mother's and said, "She's not acting like herself. There's just something different about her, okay. I know that you and mom are close, that she tells you things. Can't you just talk to her and find out what is going on? Please?"

It was the note of desperation and worry that broke through Killian's foul mood. He didn't know why he was feeling so bitter towards the lad or why he was trying so hard to shut him out. This was Henry, Swan's boy. What was he doing? "Aye, lad. I'll look into it." He reached down and ruffled the kid's hair, giving him a watery smile at the same time.

"Thanks, Killian. I knew I could count on you," Henry answered with a relieved sigh. He started to back out the door, but at the last second, changed his mind. "Hey, if you want, I'd like to hang out again sometime."

Killian nodded, feeling a bit awkward. He was still fighting off some sort of internal tug-of-war that had him wanting to be rid of the kid as fast as possible. He had no idea where that feeling was coming from, and quite frankly, it was starting to worry him. Maybe Swan would know what was wrong.

Henry left quickly, and Killian was alone once more. Going back over the events of last night, all he could remember was an intense need to protect Swan from the Crocodile and debating whether to retrieve the dagger.

Why was he even debating getting the dagger? He had made up his mind long ago about going after Gold. Hadn't he?

Using the connection, he closed his eyes and searched out for Emma's end of the line. He felt her there, her emotions coming back were excited and nervous. It was like she was looking forward to something she wanted very badly. Actually, she seemed quite happy. Maybe Henry was wrong about his mother. Clearly, there was nothing bothering her if she was in this good of a mood. The lad must have just been overreacting.

_Wasn't that to be expected from a kid his age?_

Killian's thoughts turned darker. Really, the boy probably did this sort of thing a lot, what with having two mothers and most of the town looking after him. Lad had more family and friends than anyone else in this sodding town. _So, what, he wasn't getting any attention from his mom so he thought he'd come pester the pirate?_

Killian frowned deeply, recalling the way Henry was always so stand-offish around him, especially as he and Emma had grown closer. Henry had never seemed really keen on him dating Emma in the first place. And what had he said during that curse? He'd called him a dirty pirate, and said he never liked seeing him and Emma together. _Well, bugger that! Kid could stuff it._

Grabbing the nearest half-full bottle, Killian chugged its contents and stormed from the room. He needed something the booze was just not providing. His fist clenched together and he looked down, like the hand had a mind of its own. Perhaps it did. It sure felt like it was itching to punch something. Or maybe someone. And really, a fist fight felt like the perfect thing to relieve the tension that was gathering at the base of his spine. Fists, swords…hook. It all sounded bloody amazing.

…..

Ursula's house was the last thing Emma expected. A nice, well-kept Cape Cod style on the far edge of a residential area. Not quite in the woods, it was surrounded by trees and bordered by a long, winding driveway. It was the type of place she expected Archie or Whale to live in, not a sea goddess. As she approached, her nerves starting getting the better of her. Before she had left home, she had really been looking forward to this, but the closer she got, the more her worries started coming out. A really small voice in the back of her head kept screaming at her to stop and turn around, that something was really wrong. Normally, it was that voice she tended to listen to. But Ursula had been right. She needed to defeat the Chernabog and keep her family safe (despite another _nastier_ voice telling her that she needed to stop worrying so much about her family and worry about herself for a change). For that, she needed magic.

If she was being really honest, she was only here because she was curious to see what kind of things Ursula could teach her that she hadn't learned from Regina or on her own. Emma had accepted her magic, accepted her that this was her life, her home, and now it was time to really see what she was capable of.

Raising her hand to knock, the sea witch was already opening the door, a pleased look in her brown eyes. "I'm glad you made it, Emma. Come in," she offered, motioning her into a large sitting room, cleared of everything except a couple of chairs and a table loaded with an assortment of magical objects.

"Thanks," Emma replied hesitantly. She took in the bare space, and chuckled. "I feel like I'm here to do yoga or something. You really went all out."

Ursula shrugged and said, "Well, when you are first exploring your magic, things can get a bit…messy. I just got this place, thought it might be best to keep the damage to a minimum."

Emma relaxed at the woman's easygoing mannerisms and quelled the voice of doubt in her head. "Okay, so how do we do this?"

With a light laugh, Ursula took a seat and waved Emma over to join her. "How about we just talk for a bit? It might help you relax. That's the thing about magic. You need to be calm, confident, and ready for anything when you are practicing. You need to own it, you know."

With a slight frown, Emma admitted, "I've been trying to. I mean, I like having magic. I've never had anything that made me feel special before. And having magic has given me that. But I'll admit, it's been kind of scary, too. I look at Regina and Gold and I see what having magic has done to them. So, yeah, I hesitate to use it, to really explore what I'm capable of."

Taking Emma's hand, Ursula shook her head sadly, "Oh, Emma. If only you could understand. Magic is strength. It's power. Just because some people do bad things with it, doesn't make the magic itself bad." She paused, looking at Emma as if trying to read her mind. "Think about it. Wouldn't it be great to protect the people you care about? To make sure that you would never lose anyone again? Magic can do that for you. That and so much more."

Emma's throat tightened, her chest squeezed. To never have to lose anyone else? She could do that? She could make sure that she would never have to go through the pain of another loss ever again. To be able to trust that the people she cared for wouldn't leave. Blinking rapidly and with a hitched breath, Emma brought her hand up in front of her face. She could feel the warm electric tingle of her magic just beneath her fingertips. Faintly, she could see the white glow spreading across her palms.

She didn't have to be afraid of this. This was something to be proud of, something to help take the hurt away, to ease the years of suffering.

Beside her, Ursula was saying softly, "That's it, Emma. Focus on what you want. Everything that you want. Let that feeling, that _need_ , guide you."

The glow spread, the warmth moved further down her arm, sparking electric arcs across her skin. She could feel her muscles tremble with excitement and anticipation and the slow build of her power driving her forward. Slowly she stood up and walked to the middle of the room.

What did she want? What did she need? Her heart felt heavy with the weight of her burdens.

"Go on, let it out," Ursula coaxed, standing beside her but back aways, giving her room to branch out. And branch out she did. A swirling vortex of wind began to spin about the room, whipping their hair and clothes madly.

Closing her eyes tightly, Emma tilted her head into the hum of her magic, focusing her thoughts.

_I want… I want… to never be scared. I want to feel brave and strong._

As she chanted these thoughts, her magic grew, surrounding her, enveloping her in a cloud of swirling white that was quickly becoming interspersed with a ribbon of dark blood red. Her lips twisted into a smile and she could feel the words seeping into her skin, taking root.

"I am strong. I am powerful. I am better than those who want to put me down," she declared, not even realizing she was saying the words aloud.

"Yes! Good Emma. Now, what are you going to do about it?" Ursula asked hungrily, her eyes reflecting back the light coming from Emma's magic.

"I'm going to win," Emma stated. The rush of blood and wind and magic and energy pounding through her body was making her sway on her feet. She held her hands aloft over her head and watched in fascination as scarlet lightning shot forth from her fingers and wrapped itself around her arms.

God, she had never felt so alive!

"How?" Ursula asked, feeling her own magic rising in response to the pull of energy Emma was exuding. It was all she could do to keep her own powers under control. Emma was like a superconductor charging all the particles in the room. Gold had said she was powerful, but Ursula doubted even he had foreseen the true nature of the Savior.

How? Emma pondered. How was she going to keep herself safe from the people who threatened her? Cora, Pan, Zalena, the Snow Queen, Gold. So many villains wanting to harm her, to take away her happiness. And not only villains. Even people she loved and trusted had hurt her. Neal, Walsh, Graham, her parents. Actually, they had hurt her more than any villain ever could because she had believed in them, because she had opened herself up to them, allowed them inside her heart where they could break it, stomp on it, tear it asunder.

No. No more. She needed to show them that she wasn't afraid of them anymore. She needed to prove just how strong she truly was. "I'm going to make them pay," she smirked.

Suddenly, the tornadic winds eased back, the white light magic completely absorbed into a dark crimson cloud. And as Emma looked up at Ursula, her eyes turned from green to a golden amber, somewhere between the color of fire and blood.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N- I finally just had to stop myself from being nit-picky and just post this. There was so much to convey in this chapter, I hope it makes sense. Also...THE PAIN! Ouch. Fair warning... lots and lots of angst.

"Hey, honey? Have you seen Emma today?" Mary Margaret asked David, eyes darting around the station for her missing daughter. Neal was fussing in her arms, trying to grab at her ear with his chubby hand, as she kissed her husband hello. "I just stopped by the loft, but she wasn't there. I thought she had the day off."

"Did you check Killian's room?" David muttered, a slight crease marring his brow.

His wife chuckled and swatted him. "I was at Granny's all morning with Belle. Don't worry, she wasn't there," she added with a knowing wink.

David shrugged and stepped over to kiss his infant son on the cheek and let him play with his fingers. "She was supposed to go to Regina's I think. Why?"

Mary Margaret let out a relieved breath. "Oh, that's right! I can't believe I forgot."

David frowned. His wife had clearly been very upset about Emma. Why? "What's going on?"

He watched as her eye's shadowed with apprehension. "David, I am so worried. Ever since Blue told us about Maleficent, I haven't stopped wondering what she might do. What are we going to do if she comes after us?" She trembled and squeezed her son tighter to her chest.

Gathering his near wife in his arms, he told her, "Snow, we will do what we have to, like always, to keep everyone safe. So far, we haven't heard a word from her. Who knows? Maybe Blue was wrong. Maybe Maleficent is smart enough to know that she doesn't have the power to take us all on by herself."

Mary Margaret pushed back. "And maybe she's just waiting for the right time. David! We have to do something before she tries to harm our family!"

Although he wasn't immune to her fears, David knew he had to keep her from panicking. "Like what? We don't even know where she is."

Her face fell and David felt her shudder in his arms. "I know," she said softly. "Oh, god. What if Emma finds out what we did? She'd never forgive us."

"That won't happen. Everyone who knew is gone."

"Except for Maleficent."

"Yes, but on her own, she's not much of a threat. We've beaten her before. Blue has her wand. It's alright. It's all going to be alright."

"David, I don't like this. I don't like any of this." She sniffled.

He hugged her tighter. "I know. But we can't tell Emma. Not now."

Mary Margaret pulled back, uncertainty still etched in her green eyes. "Maybe you should just call her anyway. For me. I'll feel much better knowing she's safe."

David offered her a grin, lovingly running his hand over her hair and neck. "Sure. And then I'll walk you and Neal back to the loft, okay?"

Mary Margaret nodded, a sad but grateful smile on her lips. Just then, the station phone lit up and David reluctantly hurried away to answer.

"Sheriff Nolen," he stated.

"Hey David, it's Tom at the Rabbit Hole. We've got a bit of a problem. You're going to need to get down here right away." In the background, David could hear the unmistakable sound of breaking glass and angry shouts. _A bar fight? At two in the afternoon?_

"I'll be right there."

"Great," the old barman grunted. "And David? Bring backup." The line went dead and David blinked a few times wondering just what was going on.

He turned to his wife and said, "Sorry, Snow. Duty calls. Apparently some sort of brawl at the Rabbit Hole." He gave her an apologetic look and she squeezed his arm in understanding. "Head on home and I'll check up on you when I'm done." She smiled and readjusted Neal as she headed out the door.

Picking up his phone, David rang Emma. It wasn't answered right away and David frowned at that. It wasn't like Emma to not answer. Knowing time was important, David called up the next best person he could—Killian—but he, too, didn't answer. Grumbling, David placed another call, this one to Leroy.

On the second ring, the dwarf answered. "Brother, I am so glad you called," he groused, his gruff voice flush with relief. Again, David could hear the sound of breaking glass and wood in the background.

"Leroy, what is going on? Are you at the bar?"

"Yeah. Where are you? Are you on your way?"

"Yes. But I don't have anyone else coming. No one is answering their phones except you."

"Did you try Emma?"

"Of course I did! And I tried Hook."

Leroy growled a bit and then snorted. "Yeah, well, there's a reason he ain't answering and I'm looking right at it." With that cryptic answer, the call cut off and David frowned in confusion.

Arriving at the Rabbit Hole, David pulled in the police car and re-checked to make sure his gun was secured in his holster and his cuffs were on his belt. As he exited, he saw the tell-tale signs of some sort of bar fight. The door was splintered, a window pane broken and man with a bloody nose was perched against the side of the building. Before he could take two steps, however, Leroy was rushing out to meet him.

"Boy am I glad to see you! We weren't sure we were ever going to get him down, but then Little John landed a really lucky punch and now he's out cold," Leroy said in a rush, as they pushed past the busted up front door.

Adjusting his eyes to the dim light of the bar, David asked, "Who started this? And who's out cold?"

"Him," he said, directing David's eye with his hand to the far corner of the bar where a figure in black lay prone on the floor. Little John squatted over the man with a worried look on his face. "Captain freakin' Hook," Leroy stated.

David rocked back, stunned by the news. "Hook? He did this?" Looking around, David took in the extent of the destruction for the first time. Tables and chairs were broken and overturned. Other unconscious figures were strewn about in various positions. Tom, the owner, stood behind his bar, arms crossed and a huge scowl on his face. David recognized the patrons as a mix of dwarves, Merry Men, and if he wasn't mistaken, pirates. _Crap._

Rushing over, David greeted Little John and bent down to examine the man he was guarding. It was definitely Hook, his trademark appendage was stretched out under his head. A small river of blood was coursing from his nose and mouth, and even in the dim light David could see the bluish hue of a black eye. "What the hell, Hook?" He muttered quietly. Turning back to Leroy and Tom, David stood up and resumed his princely mantle. "What happened here? Start at the beginning and tell me everything you can remember."

It was Tom who spoke first, explaining how Hook had come in, ordered a bottle of rum and had gone off to join his former crew for a few rounds. Everything seemed fine until some of the Merry Men started to get a bit too merry and began singing a song. Hook grew angry and told them to "Shut it, mates, before I stitch your lips together with the fine point of my hook." Needless to say, the Merry Men weren't too keen on his threat, and within moments, it had come to blows. Some of the dwarves stepped in, trying to get between the pirates and woodsmen, but they just became casualties as well. By all accounts, though, it was Hook who threw the first punch.

 _Damn. I really had thought he'd changed for good,_ David thought, shaking his head in frustration. Emma was going to be pissed when she heard about this. That thought made him cringe. As much as he hated to admit it, Hook had been making his daughter so very happy lately. Now he had to go and ruin everything.

"John, can you help me get him into the car?" David barked, feeling his irritation rise. He had every intention of booking Killian for starting the fight and forcing him to serve time, no matter if they were 'mates' or not. Little John nodded, and together the two of them drug his unconscious body out to the back of the cruiser. Just before David locked him in, however, he reached for Killian's hook, twisting it until it unlatched, and pulled it off.

"Sorry, mate. Can't take any chances with a pirate," David said softly, placing the weapon in the inner pocket of his coat.

Finishing up his investigation with Tom and Leroy, he told them to take stock of the damage. He would see to it that Killian made restitution for the damage he caused, as well as formally apologizing to the Merry Men before he would be allowed anywhere near his daughter again. Realizing he still hadn't gotten ahold of Emma, David made one more attempt to get ahold of her, leaving her a short message about Hook in hopes she would call. When David finished, he climbed into the car and headed for town, the pirate still passed out in the back seat.

...

It was the vibration of her phone that brought reality crashing back down around her. Blinking rapidly, Emma took a deep breath and thought, _What the fuck did I just do?_

The high from her magic drained away, leaving her feeling nauseous and ill, not entirely different from an actual drug trip. Ursula remained silent, merely observing her with her head tilted and arms crossed. Fumbling around for a life line, anything that could ground her back to the real world, Emma shoved her hands into her pockets and wrapped one hand around her phone. It was as far from magic and fairy tales as she could manage at the moment.

The magic that had coursed through her was unlike anything she had ever felt before. It was so strong, so tempting, she could still feel the desire to call it forth again shouting out to her. And, oh, how her heart ached to feel that power again! But right now, her head was in charge. Her mind was screaming back at her that nothing about this was right.

"Everything okay, Emma?" Ursula asked cautiously. There wasn't a hint of insincerity in her voice, but Emma felt like she was hiding something all the same. Why hadn't she picked up on that before? How did she get roped into this situation anyway? _Come on, Emma, you know better. You are getting in way over your head here._

"Um, yeah. I think I just need a minute though. That was a bit…"

"Overwhelming? Amazing?" Ursula offered with a smirk.

"Something like that," Emma mumbled. Suddenly, she felt the very strong desire to run, like she needed to get the hell out of that house before something else bad happened. _Don't kid yourself, Emma. Something bad already happened. You used dark magic, and you know it._

NO!

She pushed that thought down. Way down. Shuddering, she smiled a little too brightly back at Ursula and pulled out her phone from her pocket to distract herself from those disturbing thoughts. Four missed calls. All from David. And a message. Listening to it, she sighed in disappointment, her heart clenching painfully. Killian had gotten into a bar fight and David was taking him to the station. Warring thoughts about her boyfriend vied for dominance and increased her frustration with herself.

_A bar fight Killian, what were you thinking?_

Grabbing her things, Emma hastened for the door. "Hey, um, I need to get going. There's been an issue come up."

Ursula shrugged, looking disheartened. "Sure, no problem. But I hope you're not running away because you're scared."

"I'm not scared," Emma snapped, hesitating at the door, her hand mid-turn.

The sea witch strolled forward, laying a hand on Emma's arm and squeezing it gently. "Emma, look, you have extremely powerful magic. It's only natural to feel a bit overwhelmed by that the first time you really get a taste of what you can do. But don't let that stop you. If you do, you might not be able to control it the next time you use it. You have to practice and keep at it. You shouldn't be afraid of trying to reach your potential."

Emma breathed in deeply. Was that what she was really doing? Was it dark magic she used or something different? She hated the nagging voice in the back of her mind that said she knew exactly what kind of magic she had used and there was nothing good or light about it. Because she really didn't want to stop using her magic. It just felt so damn _good_.

Before she could reply, though, her phone rang once more. This time she answered.

"Emma! Thank god, I've been trying to reach you all day."

"I know, Dad, I'm s—"

"Not important," he interrupted and Emma noticed how out of breath and freaked out David sounded. "I need you to get out here, right now! The hell beast is back and it's got Hook!"

….

David couldn't understand what had happened. One minute he was driving down the road, the next, the car was violently jerked to the side, crashing into a ditch just outside the forest. Shaken, but unharmed, it took David a second to come to. Killian's groans from the back seat called him back to the moment. "Hang on, man. You okay?" David asked, turning around to try and get a better look at the pirate.

"What the devil?" Hook coughed, sounding completely confused but not angry. David took that as a good sign. "Mate? Why am I here? And why does it feel like I've been punched in the face by a giant?"

"Hold on, I'll come around for you," David stated, getting out of the cruiser. He stepped out and assessed the damage to the car, trying to determine what caused the impact in the first place. There didn't seem to be anything in the road that they had hit, and the tires weren't flat…

Just then, he saw the deep scratch running alongside the door. Before he could process it, though, he heard a tremendous roar. Suddenly, the ground beneath his feet disappeared as he was flung through the air, crashing on the other side of the road. Shuddering from the impact of his body and the ground, he looked up in time to see the Chernabog grabbing the cruiser between its taloned claws and lifting it from the ground. He could hear Killian shouting curses at the thing from inside the vehicle, but David knew with the doors locked from the outside, there would be no way for him to escape.

David began shouting at the creature himself as it violently shook the car and clawed at the windows trying to get inside. The beast seemed unbothered by David's shouts and with no other recourse, David drew his gun, firing all his rounds into its side. He might as well of been shooting blanks. The Chernabog growled and roared, bringing down one enormous fist to smash against the roof of the car, and flapping its great wings against the car. If David couldn't stop it, he knew the pirate would be dead in minutes. Having no more options, he grabbed his phone and dialed Emma, praying this time that she would answer. _Come on, Emma. Pick up, pick up, pick up_.

When she answered, David was so relieved, he nearly laughed. "Emma! Thank god!"

….

Emma had never driven so fast in all her life. The black stretch of road blurred out in front of her and all she could do was think of David's words. Through their connection, she could feel the rush of adrenaline and fear coursing through Killian's body and she kept reminding herself that it was a good thing. At least that meant he was still alive.

In moments, she arrived at the edge of the woods, just in time to see the beast finally manage on ripping off the roof of the car. She flew out the door, barely killing her engine, and blasting it with a bolt of white light before it could wrap its claws around Killian. She kept shooting as she ran forward, feet pounding against the pavement, her pony tail whipping across her face. The red eyes of the creature never left her and never dimmed even as it continued to go after her pirate. Killian had fallen quiet, no doubt looking for a way out of this mess while it was distracted. Noticing her father hunkered down behind a tree, waiting for an opportunity to get to Killian, Emma stepped forward to face off with this thing.

Suddenly, she remembered Ursula's words about destroying the belt. And there it was, exactly as she remembered. Flapping its giant, bat-like wings, it lifted high in the air, lining itself up to dive at her. In her peripheral vision, she could see her father helping Killian climb out of the wreckage of the car, and she focused her attention back on the fight in front of her, knowing she needed to keep it distracted.

Once again, she felt the welling up of her new powers as she faced this beast. A sliver of cold, like ice water, washed over her and she looked up at the quickly approaching monster with a wicked smile. Suddenly, the cold gave way to heat. Fire pulsed in her veins again and this time, Emma allowed herself to drown in it. It felt so good, so right to want to destroy the creature.

Never wavering, she continued to stare the beast down, locking onto its red gleaming eyes. A wave of red light flew from her fingers hitting the belt and shattering it into a starburst of tiny sparks. Mid-dive, the Chernabog screeched and wheeled back, flapping it's great wings to take it away.

David and a beat-up Killian rushed immediately to her side as the creature retreated. "Emma! You did it!" David exclaimed happily. Killian however, frowned at her, looking down at her hands without a word.

"Yeah," she smiled brightly, bursting with pride and relief, "And now it's going to take care of the town's crocodile population for us," she added with a saucy wink towards her pirate.

Killian perked up at this. "Swan, what are you talking about? Why would it go after Rumpelstiltskin?"

"Ursula told me that if I destroyed the belt, Gold's control over the beast will be broken and it will go after the person who has the greatest potential for darkness. Therefore, problems one…" she held aloft a finger, "and two…" she added another, "are solved." She was nearly laughing in excitement, her fingers still sparking with magic.

But the two men standing opposite her were anything but happy. "What do you mean 'Ursula told me'? When did you speak to that sea witch?" Killian growled angrily, nearly shaking her with the tightness of his grip on her arm. Just then, she was hit by a wave of emotion from him: fear and shame in equal measure.

 _"Do you know Ursula?"_ She asked him incredulously. His eyes met hers and darkened before turning away and she knew she had him caught.

" _Drop it, Swan,"_ he replied mentally. An image of a brick wall slammed up inside his head and she huffed in disbelief.

_"Are you blocking me?"_

_"Lass, I can't do this right now_ ," he begged, deep pain shadowed behind his entrancing blue eyes.

There was something he wasn't telling her and she was going to find out what it was. "Why can't you tell me? She was helping me defeat that thing." She looked up over her shoulder and waved a hand in the air, "And see, the beast is gone. So _you_ drop it."

Oblivious to the tension, David cut in. "Emma, honey, what's going on? How did you meet Ursula? And what do you mean she's helping you?"

Before she could explain or argue again, another howl tore through the air. Emma looked up in time to see the dark shadow of the Chernabog once again descending. Her face fell in disbelief, "Seriously?"

"I thought it was going after Gold?" David exclaimed, running with Emma and Killian for the cover of Emma's car.

"It was supposed to," Emma yelled angrily. _Why wasn't it? Had the spell not worked? Did Ursula lie?_ "Gold's control is broken, why is it after us?"

The creature swooped once more, this time trying to claw at Emma. She shot back with fireballs and it flew back up, never taking its glowing eyes off of her.

Beside her, Killian placed a finger under her chin, drawing up her eyes to look at his. A look of something like the worst kind of sadness reflected out of their hypnotic blue depths. "Not us, love," Killian said quietly. " _You_."

Unable to face his implications, Emma shrugged him off and scrambled up around her car, locking out the voices of her father and Killian as they shouted for her to stop. A mad spark of a plan had popped into her mind and she knew she would get one chance at destroying this thing before it could come after her. Turning to face it, she drew upon all the power she had used earlier that afternoon.

As her magic shot forth, she heard the beast screeching in terror. Her heart burned painfully as she kept casting devastating curses at it, weakening its defenses bit by bit. Her magic had gotten stronger after all and the more she fought the more powerful she felt.

All of a sudden, it tumbled from the sky, cracking the ground upon its landing. The creature roared pitifully back at her and tried to stretch its broken wings to no avail. Emma stepped closer, a smile curving up the edges of her mouth. Stretching out her hand toward it, she didn't feel the slightest bit bad when, with a final burst of magic, she destroyed it entirely.

….

Back at the loft, Killian swallowed thickly, unable to stop nervously fiddling with his leather cuff. _Swan was safe and that was all that mattered_ , he reminded himself again. Unfortunately, it wasn't doing much good.

She stood defiantly in the middle of the loft, a golden haired warrior, defending herself and her choices to her horrified looking parents. Her eyes flashed with anger at her parents as they begged her for an explanation for her actions. She rolled her eyes, telling them that she did what was necessary and that they should let it go.

"Emma, honey," Mary Margaret said softly, "Please, we aren't angry. We're just trying to understand." Her brow creased in sadness as she rocked Neal in her arms, holding him tightly to her chest as if he was her lifeline. David wrapped an arm around his wife, nodding in agreement.

Laughing, Emma replied, "Understand? Since when have you ever tried to understand me?"

Her parents stared back, dumbstruck.

Killian's emotions were a raging sea. He wanted to melt into the wall, become one with the brick and wood. Anything to stop the torment of his own thoughts. Nothing he could think of would explain why he had attacked those men at the bar, or why he had taken such delight in it. It had been centuries since he had felt such unbridled rage and fire. And Emma. Gods! He thought he had known everything there was to know about her, but when he saw the red sparks across her fingers, he had nearly fell apart. She had used dark magic to kill the hell beast, of that, he had no doubt.

 _Dark bloody magic,_ once again the bane of his existence.

Emma was still arguing with her parents, her walls up higher than ever and her parents pounding uselessly at her defenses. It mattered not. Killian knew Emma well enough to know that the direct approach would never work when she was in this state. He would have to be far more subtle. He had to think like a pirate.

However, he was conflicted. There was no way that his Swan could possess dark magic. Dark magic was the thing he had warred against for centuries. It brought him nothing but pain and strife. No, Swan's magic was always different. Hers was always like a brilliant white light, the color of purity and redemption. In its presence, he felt a sense of peace and contentment. He was always able to feel the love and goodness emanating from her soul, touching all those around her and healing his wounded heart. But this Emma was different. Her face as the creature was attacking wasn't full of concern and care, it was gleeful, almost as if she was delighting in the destruction. What was happening to her?

Someone must have poisoned his Swan, fundamentally changing her and her magic. Killian rubbed the brace where his hook should be, wondering briefly about its whereabouts, as he vowed to do whatever he could to bring her back. Whoever it was that had dared to do this to her would pay dearly for their transgressions.

 _No, that wasn't right_ , he thought ruefully. Not _whoever_. He knew _exactly_ who had done this.

The crocodile. Of course it would come back to him. Killian had no doubt in his mind that whatever was happening to Emma was a direct result of the schemes and meddling of that imp. He needed to be stopped. No, not just stopped. He needed to _pay_.

And Ursula? What was that witch doing around Emma? Why was she even here? His past with her was still a source of nightmares. How was she involved with Emma? Did she know about their relationship? Jaw clenching, he balled his hands into fists, even feeling the sensation in his phantom limb. Despite his guilt, Ursula, too, would pay if he found out she was involved.

But the crocodile came first.

Emma was utterly silent, her eyes raging and… _no, they couldn't be!_ Her eyes, always so beguiling with their swirl of greens and blues and golds, had turned an alarming shade of red. Her entire expression was one he had seen numerous times on the Dark One, the Evil Queen, Cora, even—he shuddered and his stomach dropped—Pan. Before his very eyes she was turning from a savior into a villain. This madness must stop!

Suddenly, all the wavering he had been doing coalesced into a single, burning clarity of thought. He had known all along exactly what he needed to do and now he could no longer hesitate to do it. With new determination and a unified goal, Killian mapped out a plan of action.

In order to mete out justice and bring back his Swan, he would need his hook back. Killian eyed David carefully. The prince had been the one to arrest him, so therefore it followed the prince now possessed his metal attachment. At least getting it back would be enjoyable.

Before he could move, however, the argument had finally reached its climax. Killian could feel the pulse of Emma's disgust with her parents. He longed to reach out to her, to reassure her of his love, of their love, but he knew in her current state, such efforts would be futile.

"THAT'S IT!" She screamed, breaking the stilted silence, and rocking him back with the force of her anger. Above her, the overhead lights burst and glass sprinkled around. Mary Margaret whimpered and held Neal tightly, blocking him from the falling glass, while David covered both of them with his body.

" _Emma_!" David scolded. "What are you—"

"No! You don't get to stand there and judge me. You don't get to stand there and pretend you understand me. You have never understood me. This…" she waved her hand in the air, a red flame following in its wake, "is me! This is who I really am."

"Emma, no, this isn't you!" Mary Margaret cried.

"How would you know, _mom_ ," Emma spat. "How could you possibly ever understand the power inside of me? I am so much more than 'the product of true love'," she scoffed, a cruel laugh following her words. "As if you were somehow responsible for who I am. I have done everything on my own! All my life, I've struggled and fought for just a taste of what you have. I have never had anything of my own. And now I do, and you want to take it away!"

"Honey, we don't want to take anything away from you! Of course we don't! We have wanted to give you everything. We love you. All of you," her mother weeped, pouring every ounce of feeling she could into the words.

Emma flinched from the words as if Mary Margaret had struck a physical blow. Suddenly, her whole body shuddered, and the angry light died from her eyes. She looked back and forth at the horrified and worried faces of her family, her eyes lingering on the bundled up shape of her little brother, as if she couldn't believe what she had done.

Killian was hit by a wave of immense guilt and knew exactly what would come next. Emma looked back at him quickly, her green eyes filled with tears. All he could do was nod gently, giving her his reassurance that he understood what she needed, and that it was okay. She gave him the smallest of smiles in gratitude before turning back to her parents.

"Mom, dad…I'm…I'm sorry," Emma began unsteadily. They both sagged in relief, eager to offer her their understanding, but as they began to speak, she cut them off. "I'm sorry, but I can't… I have to go." And with that, she closed her eyes tightly and in a swirl of red and white magic, disappeared from the loft.

"Emma!" Mary Margaret screamed after her, startling the baby in her arms who began to cry. Crestfallen, Snow clung to her son, offering him the comfort she couldn't give to her daughter. A heavy silence descended as Emma's absence seemed to create a void in the room.

David stared at the spot where Emma had been, his whole body tense, and his arm still wrapped tightly around his wife as if she were the only thing anchoring him to the spot. He pulled her closer, trying to reign in his frustration. Killian didn't have to wonder at what he was thinking or feeling; he had been there often enough himself. Emma's stubborn nature was often beyond endurance.

Sniffling, Mary Margaret looked up at her husband, and tried to voice her fears. "David, we failed. Again. And I don't know if I can keep doing this. It seems like every time we make any progress, she just slips further away. What kind of parents are we?" She lifted Neal closer as if worried he, too, would turn away from her love.

"That's not true and you know it. You are a wonderful parent. Emma's just a little bit hard to talk to sometimes." David offered, his voice tight and his blue eyes sullen.

Mary Margaret shook her head and pulled away, taking their son upstairs to try and calm him down. To calm herself. David followed his wife's trail with his eyes, uncertain whether to follow or not.

Unable to help himself, Killian let out a slight snort at his description of his daughter. Emma wasn't hard to talk to, not to him. But he always did love a challenge and Emma was the bloody biggest challenge of his entire life.

"And you?" David fumed, finally noticing the black-clad pirate in the corner of the room, "Suddenly you're afraid to speak your mind? Why didn't you try to stop her? I thought you cared about her?"

Killian growled and glared at David, hot anger radiating from his icy blue eyes. "Mate," he seethed through tightly clenched teeth, "don't _ever_ think for one second I don't care about your daughter. But in case you didn't learn your lesson the last time Emma's powers got away from her, sometimes it's better to let her be." David's jaw clenched at the memory of the falling power line and the unbearable hours of worry after.

Killian, too, vividly remembered Emma's last flight, and shuddered at the way those events played out. She had nearly gotten herself sucked into that damned hat, and the bloody imp had stolen his heart because of it. His body flamed at that memory, but he told himself that now was not the time. The crocodile would pay. Soon. And for now, Emma was safe. At least this time he knew exactly where Emma was and what she was thinking, thanks to their bond. And he knew as well, that she needed to sort this out on her own. When she was ready, she would find them and talk. That was, if he could rid her of this dark magic.

David clearly wasn't ready to hear that yet. He was always the bludgeon-his-way-through kind of person anyway, and just as stubborn as Emma could be. Reeling on him from nowhere, David pushed him in the chest and barked, "You. You are supposed to be in jail."

"What are you going to do, arrest me for standing here, mate?" Killian asked incredulously, his brow raised to his hairline.

David grumbled, tightening his fists into a ball. "No, I already arrested you for drunk and disorderly. Now I'm just finishing the job."

"You really want to take me to jail when your daughter is out there alone?" He yelled, a finger pointing towards the street.

A moment of guilt flared in David's eyes, but his stubbornness forced it away. "Yes. I do. Besides, you said to leave her be, right? That's what I'm doing. I'm going to make sure you don't influence her anymore."

Killian froze in shock. "Wait? You think this is somehow my fault? You think I would ever let Emma become like this? This is a spell of some sort. No doubt the work of dark magic. I told you that something was wrong the day she went missing! Can you not see that this has Gold's slimy scent all over it, Dave?" He was so aghast at David's accusation, he didn't even try to fight back as David pushed him out the door.

In moments, they were at David's truck, his eyes never once looking at him. Killian tried to remain calm, tried to tell himself that David was just upset about Emma, but he was starting to resent the way David's true feelings about him came out when he was angry. "Come on, pirate. I don't care if you think this is Gold's fault or not. Maybe it is, but I still have a job to do, and if I can't protect my daughter, then I'm going to protect the people of this town. Now get in the car!"

Killian raised a brow, looking the sheriff up and down. With a little smirk, he replied coldly, "As you wish," and spun on his heel. David followed behind, pushing him forward, just to the edge of the car.

"So I'm back to being a pirate, then? Eh, mate," Killian asked coldly, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Well, at least now I won't feel so bad when I do this—" With a powerful stroke, Killian swung back his elbow high enough to knock David in the nose. Twirling around, he followed his punch with another using his heavy cuff, right on the jaw of the dazed prince, knocking him out cold.

Killian wasted no time searching through David's pockets for his metal namesake, finding it quickly inside his jacket. With a little triumphant chuckle, Killian, no… _Hook_ , attached the weapon back on his brace. "'Pologies, Mate, but you have something of mine. Again." His own words echoing back to him.

He spared only a second for the man passed out at his feet, the guilt fighting to get out. Sighing, he reached down and patted the prince's shoulder. "Sorry, Dave, but you were asking for it. Don't worry. As soon as I kill the crocodile, Emma will return to you." He looked away, suddenly unable to stomach the trickle of blood on David's face. In a pained voice, Hook added, "I can only hope you'll be able to forgive me one day."

…..

The orb was darkening at a rate that surprised him. He had thought it would take much longer for Miss Swan to succumb, especially do to her extremely contrary nature. He tittered a bit to himself, pleased with how well things were going. _Soon can't come soon enough._

"What are you so happy about? Did you finally manage to find an Armani suit in a kid's size?" Cruella lifted her chin and smirked.

The other two women in the room looked up from the orb to see what Cruella was talking about. Gold suddenly felt his anger rise.

"Cruella, I had nearly forgotten you were here until I heard the sound of destitution and two-dollar gin. How's bankruptcy treating you these days?" Gold sneered, his eyes flashing with cruel merriment.

Ursula sighed and rolled her eyes. "Children, can we not?"

Maleficent agreed with a nod towards the sea witch. "Agreed. We do have work to do, you know." With a shrug she waved her hands towards the doorway. "Unless you would prefer to continue your taunts elsewhere and let the real sorcerers in the room show you how it's done."

Gold grinned menacingly at Maleficent and tapped his cane against the floor. "Dearie, the real sorcerer is already in charge. However, you are correct. There is still much work to be done. Ursula, you have succeeded on getting Emma to trust you, but now, you must convince her to branch out, explore her dark side, if you will."

"What do you want me to do?" Ursula asked with concern. Gold had to admit that of all the ladies present, Ursula was the only one who responded well to his direction. A true professional, as a goddess must be. In a way, he admired that about her.

Always cynicism aside, he replied, "She's had a taste of her power, but she hasn't fully committed to it. She needs to be pushed away from the heroes, from her family and those that love her. She needs to see just how wrong she has been about them all this time."

"For that, you'll need me," Maleficent interrupted, surprising everyone, as she walked to the center of the group. The light from the orb cast mottled shadows across her face, causing her eyes to look more dragon-like then ever. "There's a juicy bit of gossip about her parents I've been just _dying_ to share. I have a feeling once she knows just what her so-called 'charming' family has done, she'll be jumping aboard the villain train in no time."

Gold smiled at this, his golden tooth revealed. He knew Maleficent had a past with Snow and Charming, but he never did learn the details. But the way she talked about them with murder in her eyes, he knew the Black Fairy would stop at nothing for her revenge. "Very well. When Emma comes back, you should introduce yourselves to her. Tread carefully. The darkness may be taking hold, but that doesn't mean she will automatically trust you. We cannot afford any setbacks." With that, Gold disappeared, taking the crystal orb with him back to his hidden cabin once more.

Upon arrival, he produced the sphere and set it floating in the air, always watching the interplay of opposing colors, drawn to its contradictory beauty. The white clouds were no match for the hungry black, and yet they continued to fight back. The eternal struggle of good and evil in the most fascinating of ballets.

Perhaps it was time to check up on his lovely Belle. To see her once more to remind himself why he was so desperate to corrupt a soul like Miss Swan's. His chest ached at the thought, but he easily tamped it down.

He would do anything to make Belle his again. _Anything_. And once he rewrote his story, he knew Belle would forgive him for all that he was about to do. She wouldn't even know. They could start over again. Belle and Bae, together as they should have been. And no 'heroes' would ever get in his way again.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: Henry feels, Regina feels, lots of feels all around. Team Hero gets together and tries to figure out what to do about Emma.
> 
> Thoughts? Comments? Love to hear from you.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N- sorry it took so long for an update, but this was a really dialogue heavy chapter with lots of Charming/Mills family feels. Hopefully, you will like it. Not much plot action, and a bit shorter than I had wanted, but I think it ends at a good place. Remember, it is now only loosely associated with canon, although I did try to tie some elements into it.

David awoke dizzy and sore, wondering for a moment what had happened. And then it all came back to him. Hook had knocked him out. Emma had run away. Everything was just going wrong. Pulling himself up using the side of his truck, David took a minute to allow himself to feel all the grief he had been denying in front of Mary Margaret. Palms splayed against the cool metal, David tucked his head between his arms and let his emotions go. The tears came hard and fast. He cried for his wife, who had thought she was finally getting the relationship with her daughter she had dreamt of. He cried for Henry, who was caught once more in the crossfire of a magical struggle. He even cried for Killian, a man who had spent so long in darkness he never seemed to be able to rid himself from it no matter how much he tried.

But mostly, he wept for his daughter. His beautiful, headstrong, wonderful daughter, who had always been a source of love and light in his own life, now fighting against the temptation to darkness that using magic brings. And there wasn’t anything he could say or do to help. Emma didn’t even have a choice. He knew the moment Killian had voiced it, that he was right—Emma was under some sort of a curse. She had to be. What else could make her eyes turn color, make her words so harsh and cold? Damn that pirate for being right!

David heaved a last heavy sigh. No, this wasn’t Killian’s fault and he had let his own hurt and anger cloud his perceptions. He was wrong to call him a pirate, to assume the worst of the man who had gone to extraordinary lengths to prove himself worthy. Oh, he would pay for knocking him out, David chuckled at the thought, but it wasn’t as important as protecting his daughter’s heart. After all, if it had been him in that position, he would have done the same thing. And David knew one thing for certain, no one loved his daughter more than the pirate.

Still, David was worried about Killian.   True, he didn’t have the best record for making smart decisions, but bar fights, knocking him out and escaping to go after Gold again… Something was really off about him.  

He scrubbed his eyes, wincing as he touched the bruise on his cheek where Killian had socked him with his elbow. He needed to be strong now, for his wife, son, and daughter, because he had a feeling this was just the beginning.

……………

“Henry?” Regina called, watching her son flip the pages of the book with such a sad expression she couldn’t help but notice. “Is something wrong? I know you want to help find the author, but you don’t need to let it bother you so much.”

Henry sighed, clearly struggling with what he wanted to say. “It’s not that…I’ve just been worried.”

“Worried? About what?”

Henry closed the book, resting his hands and head on top of it. “My mom. She’s been acting really strange and I told Killian and he said he would help, but then, he was sort of acting weird too, and I…” he took a long breath, letting it out slowly. “I don’t know what to do.”

Regina’s heart ached for her son. Clearly he was tormented. “Henry, tell me exactly what happened.”

Henry looked up, his eyes warming at the sight of her genuine concern. He began to tell her all the things he had noticed about Emma and Killian’s behavior. When he was done talking, he added, “I don’t know. I mean, I always feel like you should trust you gut or whatever, but I kinda wonder if I’m just making a big deal of nothing.”

Tightening her jaw, Regina knelt down so that she could look at her son squarely. “Henry, never, _ever_ doubt yourself when it comes to helping people you care about. It is one of the things I admire most about you.” His eyes widened. Regina could feel the tears threatening, so she pushed forward. “I know that I’ve never really said it, but you are my hero, Henry. And if you say there is something wrong, then I believe you. I will _always_ believe you.”

Henry started to blink rapidly as his eyes welled up. Relief shown from his face as he launched himself at his mother, tackling her in a firm hug. Regina squeezed back in amazement, wondering for the millionth time how she had ever gotten so lucky. She could hear him whispering ‘thank you’ into her shoulder, and she sagged against him. Pulling back, she quickly wiped the tears from his cheeks and steadied her own emotions. “Okay…let’s fix this.”

Henry nodded and drew himself up. “I love you, mom,” he said suddenly, nearly stealing her breath away.

“And I you, Henry,” Regina answered with an affectionate smile.   _Maybe this is all I need for my happy ending after all._

“So, wh—“ Henry started when he was interrupted by a knock at the front door. A rather loud, insistent knock.

“Hang on,” Regina said, straightening her shirt and swiping away any lingering wetness from her eyes. She might show vulnerability in front of her son, but she was not ready to show it to anyone else.

With a huff, she flung open her door only to be greeted by the Prince and Snow.

“Regina!” Mary Margaret cried, her eyes red-rimmed and face puffy. “We need your help.”

“Of course,” Regina scoffed, opening the door for them and shrugging, “What else is new?”

Before entering though, David lowered his voice and asked, “Is Henry here?”

Regina narrowed her eyes at him. “Of course he is,” she answered slowly. “Why?”

“It’s Emma. There’s something wrong with her,” he said with a heavy sigh.

Regina cast a look over her shoulder, back at her son. He had been right after all, but that could only mean he was in for yet another heartbreak. She looked at the weary, worried faces of Snow and David and nodded. “Henry’s been saying the same thing. You’d better come in and tell me what is going on.”

It didn’t take long for the entire tale to come out. Henry explained to everyone what he had seen and his grandparents backed it up with their own version of events. Regina took it all in, feeling particularly disturbed by the news that Ursula was now involved. Just one more villain to add to an ever-growing list. And while it was true that her and Emma had never been close, exactly, she knew enough to know that Emma would never, ever behave in that manner of her own accord.   The description of the way her magic had changed only furthered her conclusion that it had to be some sort of curse. However, she would need more to be able to figure out exactly what had happened to Emma to turn her against her family.

“And what about Killian,” Henry asked suddenly during a lull in the conversation. “He wasn’t acting like himself, either.”

That was at least somewhat easier to explain. “I think it has to do with Emma’s bonding spell.”

“Her _what_?” Henry asked.

Snow and David’s eyes grew wide in sudden understanding. “You mean whatever is affecting our daughter is also affecting him because they share a connection?”

Regina crossed her arms, thinking rapidly, “Yes. Whatever she feels, he does, too. It only stands to follow if she is under some sort of dark curse, he would be affected by it as well.”

Her son watched with growing horror in his eyes. “Does that mean he’ll go back to being Hook again?”

“Possibly,” she answered honestly, sorry to see the disappointment in his eyes. Regina turned back to David and Snow, “We should keep an eye on him for now so that he doesn’t get up to his old antics.”

“Um, that might not be possible,” David added sheepishly, rubbing his sore jaw. “He sort of knocked me out when I was trying to arrest him for starting a bar fight. I have no idea where he is now. I called Ruby, but she said he hasn’t been back to his room. With the Jolly gone, he could be just about anywhere.”

“You lost the pirate? Why am I not surprised?” Regina scoffed.

Cutting off a disgruntled looking David, Mary Margaret said, “Didn’t he say he blamed Gold for all this? Maybe we should check in on Belle and make sure he doesn’t try to use her to get to him.”

“That’s a good idea. I think we could use her for this anyway.” Regina agreed.  

Mary Margaret smiled for the first time since the conversation began. Her worry for her daughter had clearly taken its toll, but her relief at having someone willing to help was clearly evident. “Regina, why don’t you call her and have her come over? I’m going to call Granny and check on Neal. Then we figure out exactly what has happened to my daughter.”  
……….

An hour later, the sky was darkening and everyone had gathered in Regina’s living room. Snow, Regina, and Belle were looking over all the books Belle had brought with her about dark curses and David and Will were coordinating yet another search party with the merry men and dwarves. Henry remained off to the side, watching his family come together once more in yet another crisis. He only wished this one wasn’t caused by his mom.

He felt a bit useless. This wasn’t like before, he couldn’t just do the true love’s kiss thing with her again and make everything better, could he? Henry knew Emma was strong, that she would fight this with everything she had, and that she would find a way to come back. He believed that with all his heart. So as worried as he was for her, he wasn’t really afraid. However, now Killian was cursed too. He hadn’t realized until today just how much the pirate had come to mean to him. When he heard his mom confirm that Killian might be returning to his former villainous ways, he felt like his world had been crushed. He couldn’t lose him, and Henry knew his mom needed Killian, too.

Henry desperately wanted to help, but he had no idea where to even begin. His mom and Killian were both missing. Regina had no idea what might kind of curse this was or how to stop it, and there were new villains in town. Why were there new villains? That was a question that kept nagging at him. It couldn’t be a coincidence, he didn’t believe anything that happen in Storybrooke was ever a coincidence. Regina had told him something when they were starting Operation Mongoose about How Mr. Gold had been looking for his happy ending, too. Henry glanced down at the book next to him on the sofa. Could all this have something to do with the book and the Author? His mom had kept saying villains don’t get happy endings, maybe the villains had figured out a way to change their stories using Emma’s magic.

Henry couldn’t explain it, but the more he thought about it, the more certain he became. _Trusting your gut, works every time,_ Henry thought giddily. Suddenly, he was bursting with the need to share his conclusions. “Hey guys!” He shouted, causing every adult in the room to literally freeze their actions. If the situation hadn’t been so grave, he would have laughed at them.

“Henry?” Regina asked from her spot at the table.

“I think I might have an idea. I know it sounds crazy, but hear me out.” He paused looking around to make sure everyone was listening. Surprisingly, they all seemed like they were eager to hear what he had to say. Their faith in him made him a bit nervous. It wasn’t that long ago when no one ever believed a word he said, and now…

Henry took a breath and continued. “Okay, so you know how I’m trying to help my mom find the Author?” Regina raised her eyebrows at this, but everyone else just nodded. “Um, well, I was thinking… there are all these new villains in town, right? So why are they here _now_? I don’t think it’s a coincidence. I think Killian was probably right, and Mr. Gold is behind it. I think he is trying to change the ending to his story and he’s using Emma’s magic to do it. Maybe Ursula is working with Mr. Gold and Maleficent and they are here to try to find the Author or something.”

“You think the villains are teaming up to rewrite the book so that they can get their happy endings?” Regina asked.

Henry nodded.

There was a mutual shared silence as his words fell over the room. Suddenly, Belle practically jumped up from her chair and shouted, “Henry! That’s it!” She scattered through the books and papers searching quickly for a particular tome. Grabbing it out from the bottom of a stack of ancient, leather-bound manuscript, Regina’s face lit up. “Here, this might be what we are looking for.” She opened it up and began to translate, “If a sorcerer can collect enough dark magic, he or she can alter any magic cast previously. All one would need would be a special type of crystal ball that can harness dark energy, and blood from a practitioner of the darkest of magics.”

“But Emma’s magic is light magic. She doesn’t have dark magic,” David supplied.

“The Chernabog! It only goes after those with the potential for the darkest of magic. You said after its control was broken, it went for Emma.” Belle added, her chin raised in confidence.

Regina jumped in, catching on to what Belle was saying quickly. “One thing I learned long ago was that when you have great power inside you, you can use it either way. Emma has always used her power for good, but her magic is so strong, it’s little wonder it has attracted the attention of every villain out there. Hell, I’ve even felt the pull.”

“Wait, what?” Asked a shocked Mary Margaret.

“What?” Regina shrugged.

David harrumphed and raised his voice. “Nevermind. Look, what can we do about this? If she is cursed or whatever, how to we break it? True love’s kiss?” He had to stop himself from grimacing at the thought of Hook and his daughter sharing that kind of kiss, but deep down, he knew their connection went beyond normal love.

Regina rolled her eyes with a flourish of her hands. “Well _Prince Clueless_ , that would be fantastic if her pirate boyfriend wasn’t also under the same curse.” Her voice became suddenly serious as a passing thought crossed her brow. “Really, I’m not sure if this is a typical curse. Infecting someone with dark magic? I don’t know what could do that. It would take more power to enact than even Rumpelstiltskin possess alone.”

Henry jumped in excitedly, nearly shouting, “But he’s not alone! That’s the point. Maybe that’s how he did it. Working with other villains. We don’t even know how many people might be in on this thing. What if there are more villains involved than the three we know? There could be a whole league of evil right under our noses!”

Mary Margaret’s face blanched. “How do we find any of them? Belle, do you have any idea where Rumple might be hiding? Anything at all?”

Belle shivered and was slow to answer, looking first to Will for strength. “No, I obviously was never privy to all of Rumple’s secrets. And we’ve had people check all the places I could think of, but he’s clever. He’ll find a way to hide until he’s ready. If he doesn’t want to be found, he won’t be.” She bit her bottom lip and sighed. “But maybe I could draw him out.”

“No, it’s too dangerous!” Will and Mary Margaret exclaimed at the exact same time.

Belle shook her head sadly. “Rumple won’t hurt me. He may be cruel and evil, but I know deep down he still loves me. I’m not afraid of him.”

David crossed the room, standing just next to Belle. He gave her a look of understanding but he still looked wary. “I think you might be right, but actually it isn’t him I’d be worried about. It’s Hook.”

“What do you mean?” Belle frowned.

Regina crossed over to where David was and placed a hand on Belle’s shoulder. “If Killian has gone dark with Emma, and he’s after Gold again, then who knows what he might do to get to him. Last time that happened you got shot and luckily Gold was there to heal your wound, but this time—“

Belle reeled back in shock, throwing Regina off. “Wait a minute! Did you say Killian’s going after Rumple?”

“Yes, that’s what he said,” David answered, looking at her with confusion.

“Oh my god. No…” Belle cried, covering her mouth with her hands. Her face had lost all its color and it was clear she was extremely distressed.

“Belle, what is it?” Mary Margaret asked.

Looking up at them, all of them, they’re faces so concerned for her, she started to tremble. Quietly, almost a whisper, she said, “The dagger. I gave Killian the dagger. I couldn’t take the responsibility of it anymore and I really thought he had changed and…” She was looking at Regina now, pleading with her of all people to understand the gravity of the situation.

Apparently it was lost on David. “You think he might kill Gold?”

But Regina had understood from the start. She now shared Belle’s look of horror. “No, you don’t understand…” she corrected. “Whoever kills the Dark One with that dagger becomes the next Dark One themselves. Don’t you see… this just went from bad to apocalyptic.”

“Oh god.” Mary Margaret squeaked.

“And if Emma gets her hands on that dagger…” Regina added. The room fell utterly silent, everyone drawing identical conclusions.   Emma was cursed. She was doing things she normally would never do. Did that mean she was capable of killing someone? Did that mean she would be capable of killing Gold?

David was the first to respond. “We have to stop Hook! We have to get that dagger back!”

Regina sighed heavily, knowing there was no way any one would support her next statement. “Yeah, well, Hook’s just as crafty as Rumple. Belle, this is going to fall on you.  With Emma off the table, she is the only one who can draw either one out.” As expected, Mary Margaret, David, and Will all protested. However Belle was in agreement.  

“We just need to make sure she’s protected at all times,” Regina offered.

“I’ll do it.” Came a serious, thickly accented voice.

“Will, no,” Belle replied, offering him a tense smile.

But Will set his jaw and looked her square in the eye. “Look, if someone’s coming to harm yah, I’m going to be there to kick their arse.”

Regina shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Nice sentiment, but Eyebrows isn’t going to be enough. This is going to take magic. And a plan. And quite frankly, I’m too damn exhausted to do either. We all need to rest and refocus. If we make a wrong move here, we could not only jeopardize Emma, we could jeopardize the whole town. It’s like playing Jenga with dynamite.”

Surprising everyone, David was the first to speak. “I agree, Regina. Let’s all just take a moment to think this through. I’ll keep the patrols going and field the calls, you all go get some sleep. For now, though, it may be for the best if we all just stay here tonight, if that’s okay?” Regina shrugged but nodded.   David continued, directing the group like the leader he was. “And if I hear anything, I’ll be sure to let you all know.” He took a deep breath, running his hand through his hair. He shot a tender look over to his wife and continued, “We’re going to have to be on our guard and ready at all times, so I say we should take the chance to rest while we can.   It’s been an emotional day for all of us, and Emma and Hook need us to be our best selves. One mistake and we could lose them.” His face fell, the toll of stress finally breaking him down. Mary Margaret rushed to his side, tears in her eyes as well.

Henry could sense just how worried everyone was. He was, too. Probably more than he had ever been. But Henry wasn’t the Truest Believer for nothing. He had faith that love and goodness would win. It always had before. He couldn’t let them forget that. He stepped out from behind Mary Margaret, speaking now to the assembled group. “You know, we’re kind of a superhero team. I think this calls for a new code name. How about… _Operation Captain Swan_.”

Sensing that her son was trying to keep up everyone’s spirits, Regina pushed away her own worries and played along. “Ugh, really?”

Belle sensed it too. “Yeah, Henry, sounds a bit obvious. Let’s just call it… _Operation Lighthouse_.”

“Lighthouse?” Henry scoffed.

David cleared his throat, standing taller than he had all day. His grandson’s unwavering optimism could do that. “Yeah, because we are the light in the darkness for Emma to come home to. A beacon of hope in the middle of the storm.”

Henry shot him a grateful thousand-megawatt smile. “Okay. Yeah! Sounds perfect. Go Operation Lighthouse and Team Hero!”

………………………………………..

Bright and early the next morning, Henry awoke. His sleep had been deep but full of nightmare scenarios involving his mom.   As he made his way downstairs for some breakfast, he could hear soft talking coming from the kitchen and he paused at the door to listen. Spying on people was starting to become a very bad habit, and he wondered briefly if Killian’s influence wasn’t starting to rub off on him.

It was his mom and grandmother talking. Mary Margaret sounded really upset, but she was keeping her voice low. Henry wished he could see them as well as hear them, but he cupped his ear to hear better and was quickly absorbed into the private conversation.

“Regina, what if this doesn’t work? What if she never comes back from this?” His grandmother asked.

“I came back,” Regina replied.

Mary Margaret paused, a hitch in her breath. “Yeah, but you weren’t cursed. You made bad choices, but they were yours to make. This is different.”

“I know, but I think a part of her is still there. I think we can use it to get through to her.”

“How? Regina, she doesn’t even want to talk to me or David right now. Oh god, what if she goes too far? What if she kills someone? Or kills Gold and becomes the new Dark One. Then, even if we break the curse on her, she’ll never get over that!”

Henry could hear the scrape of the kitchen chair as Regina scooted closer to Mary Margaret. “Snow, the one thing I’ve learned from you is that it’s _never_ too late when love is involved. Would you forgive her for what she’s done? Even if she does something unforgivable? Would you still love her?”

Mary Margaret’s voice rose in pitch. “Of course! I will always love her no matter what. Besides, she’s under a curse and not responsible for her actions.”

Henry could practically see the eye roll in his mom’s voice. “See, if you can forgive her, she can forgive you, too. Sure it might take time, but she’ll get there. I did. And I know we’ll be able to stop her before does anything _permanent_.”

“I hope your right, but I’d really rather never test that theory.” His grandmother trailed off, clearly upset by something else. “Regina…there’s something else. Something that has been killing me since this whole thing started.”

“What is it?”

“I…” Henry heard Mary Margaret sniffling, her voice anguished. “It’s about Maleficent. It’s about something I did. And now, if Emma’s with her, I’m terrified she’ll find out. And I don’t know if Emma will ever forgive me for it.”

“Snow?” Regina asked. Henry couldn’t remember the last time his mom had sounded so truly worried. Whatever was going on must be really bad.

Just barely audible, Mary Margaret replied, “Regina, you asked me to keep a secret once, and I failed and it caused so much pain… but I’m begging you to keep a secret for me.”

“What is it, Snow? What could be so bad that Emma would turn against you?”

Another long pause, as if she was trying to figure out how to say the words. “Maleficent. Because of me, she lost her child.”

“What?” Regina gasped.

Henry could hear the pain in Mary Margaret’s voice, how her words could barely come out because she was crying so hard. He shifted uncomfortably against the door, hoping he didn’t make a noise they could hear. Luckily, the conversation kept going. “I can’t… it’s too hard to talk about. All I can tell you is that I did something terrible in order to keep Emma from becoming evil. And I know that Maleficent won’t hesitate to use that information against me. What if that’s what sends her over the edge? What if because of something I did, I lose my daughter to the darkness?”

“Snow, shhh. Stop that. What do you always say to me? You say to have hope. Well, I’m telling you now, you need to keep believing that. I’ve known Emma for some time now, and I know how much she loves you and David. And I know that she can and will forgive you. But you need to tell her. Before Maleficent does.”

“How? It’s not possible, I don’t even know where my own daughter is.”

His mom’s voice came out as sincere as Henry had ever heard it. Not one trace of the Evil Queen at all. “You’re right. Maybe not. But you two had better start being honest with her. About everything. I know you can’t understand what it is like to have magic, but you know what darkness does to a person. And you know how to come back from it.”

Then, her tone hardened with a sudden resolve. “Snow, I’m going to tell you the truth. One of the things that really drives me nuts about you is you’re inability to compromise. It’s always black and white with you. Good and evil are always two separate entities. But that’s not how it always works. Ever since she arrived here, Emma’s been told she’s the Savior. There’s a lot of expectation to live up to with that title. I think she is terrified of letting people down should she make the wrong choices. I know Emma well enough by now to know that her biggest fears revolve around disappointing the people she cares about and them leaving her. And you and Charming keep telling her she should always do the right thing, the good thing. But, damn it, Snow, it’s not always that simple! Our choices aren’t always so clear cut.”

“But Regina…” Mary Margaret rebuffed.

Regina growled, “No, Snow. You’ve done bad things in the name of doing good. Stop pretending to be so high and mighty about making the right choices all the time! You’ve tried so hard to protect her from evil, you’ve forgotten that she is only human. Everyone has the both good and evil inside them. And sometimes people just make the wrong choice. Does that make them a villain?”

Henry wondered if maybe his mom wasn’t speaking about Emma anymore. She sounded as if she was referring to herself. Henry knew his mom struggled with making good choices, but she had been doing better lately. Well, until Robin left and then she sort of got all melancholy. He’d been secretly worried that she might slip up if she got any more setbacks. It was one of the reasons he was helping to find the Author. It seemed to give her hope.

“I do not pressure her about her choices!” Mary Margaret cried, clearly affronted.

“You do!” Regina stressed, “And Emma is running from this impossibly high standard you’ve set as much as anything. This curse will latch onto all her insecurities and infinitely play upon them.” She stopped abruptly, as if catching her thoughts before they could slip away. When she spoke again, her voice was quieter, more unsteady. “We’ve all treated her like her only job was to make us all happy. Even me.”

Henry could hear Mary Margaret’s quick intake of breath at his mom’s admission. “And it should have been our job to support her, not just to protect her from all the evil in the world. Oh, Regina! What have we done?” She was crying again, and it took all of Henry’s will power not to rush in there and console her. But this was too important. Not just for him, but for the two women he knew shared such a troubled past.

There was a long silence and Henry thought the conversation must have come to an end. He wondered if now would be a good time to pretend he hadn’t heard a thing and pop in to the kitchen. Then, suddenly, he heard his mom say, “Snow, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so critical. If anything, you should have been yelling at me.”

“You? Why?”

“Because all of this was my fault!” Regina admitted with a loud sigh.

Henry was positive his grandmother must be sitting there with an open mouth. “Regina…are you actually admitting to being at fault for something? Did you get hit with a curse, too?”

“Oh...shut it, Snow,” Regina snapped, but Henry could hear the tease in her voice.

Mary Margaret instantly replied with a very grateful, “Thank you, Regina.”

“Yeah, well. Don’t get used to it,” Regina grumbled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: Emma embraces the darkness. Killian returns to his old ways. And Gold gets a surprise he wasn't expecting.
> 
> Comments are always appreciated!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma gives in to the dark side. A little Hook double-trouble. Regina to the rescue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N- ANNNNDDD I'm back! Holy smokes, guys... was that episode intense or what? I am soooo not ready for the finale. It is going to hurt like crazy.
> 
> If you are looking for a way to feel better about things, this chapter won't help. This is angsty angst at its worst, I'm afraid. Sorry it took so long to get to this chapter. I did something like three rewrites because I just didn't feel like I had it right, still not quite sure about it... Feel free to let me know what you think.
> 
> Thank you all so much for your comments and kudos and everything. They have given me the drive I needed to push through and write this.
> 
> Anyway, here is this...I really hope you enjoy it. I will do my best not to leave you hanging for the next chapter (which should be the conclusion), but I've gone back and forth about exactly how I want it to end so much that I can't make any promises for a super quick update.
> 
> *Deep breath*... Let's do this...

Emma had spent yet another restless night in the relative safety of her Beetle. Her sleep had been fitful at best, plagued by vivid dreams of blood and horror and guilt with the way she had acted towards her parents. Often throughout the night, she had searched out Killian, needing his steadfast support, even from a distance. He would send small messages of encouragement and love, but never once pushed her to come back or made her feel guilty about running. At this point, he understood her feelings so well, it was as if they were the same person.

At dawn, Emma had awoken from a particularly disturbing dream involving Gold, Killian, and her magic spiraling out of control and she knew sleep was no longer an option. While she longed for the comfort and safety of his arms once more, she knew she needed to work out what was going on with her before she could return home. To do that, she needed help.

Even though it was ridiculously early in the morning, Ursula greeted Emma warmly and told her she was glad to see her. As Emma stepped inside, she immediately sensed that Ursula wasn't alone. A woman with two-toned hair and a furry sweater sat casually swinging her leg against the chair, sipping a large cup of what Emma suspected was a latte by the tempting smell wafting towards her.

_How did she get a latte in Storybrooke? Why can't I get one those?_

"Um..." Emma began, unsure if maybe she should just leave.

Ursula placed a warm hand on her shoulder and smiled. "Emma, this is my friend, Cruella. She's been staying here with me. She also wants to help."

"Wait, I know you," Emma replied slowly, stepping closer to the lady in the chair. The memory of her was sort of foggy, but she definitely remembered that hair and smirk. "You helped rescue Pongo, the Dalmatian."

Cruella chuckled, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "Of course, darling. I wouldn't dream of letting a beautiful dog like that get hurt." The woman lifted her chin and studied her. "Oh, my poor dear. You look like you've had quite the night. Sit down, relax. Ursula will make you some breakfast and you can tell us all about it."

While the thought of food sounded tempting, the thought of sharing what was going on with her sounded akin to torture. So Emma sat in silence, observing the way the new lady smiled at nothing but whatever thoughts were in her head. She sighed, her own thoughts a jumble of confusion and pain.

"Darling, worrying yourself like that will only add wrinkles to that lovely skin of yours." Cruella said suddenly.

Suddenly feeling self-conscious about her appearance, Emma glared at the woman and quipped, "I don't need beauty tips from someone who wears more makeup than a circus clown."

She didn't miss the flash of white-hot anger that sparkled in the woman's eyes before she schooled herself back into her previous friendly manner. Emma smiled to herself, at least pleased to see that her instincts were still intact.

"I assure you, darling, I always know what I'm talking about."

 _Of course you do. Especially when you're lying,_ Emma smirked to herself.

After a meal of hot oatmeal with cinnamon and fruit and her own mug of coffee, Emma started to feel more relaxed around the two women. At least here, she knew where she stood. Ursula and Cruella were chatting on about various goings on around town and Emma's mind drifted. All of her instincts were telling her that these woman were hiding something from her. Not like her parents, who she thought she trusted implicitly, only to feel like they too were keeping something from her. It was that unsettled feeling of something she couldn't quite put her finger on that bothered her the most. Sensing Emma's willingness to finally talk, Ursula joined her on the sofa, offered her an understanding ear.

"Do you ever worry that having magic means no one will ever understand you?" Emma asked distractedly.

"What do you mean?"

Staring down into the cream-colored coffee, Emma frowned and said, "My parents. I killed that Chernabog to save the town and they act like it was…I don't know…something evil. Like I'm evil. Every time my magic goes just a little bit haywire, they act like I'm going to burn the town down or something." She ran a hand through her already tangled hair. "Maybe they're right to be afraid of me."

To her surprise, the sea goddess just laughed. "Of course they are! You are strong and powerful. You can do things others merely dream of. Deep down, they want to control you because they are jealous. How many times would having magic helped them save the day?"

Those words struck her. She knew that playing the hero and doing the right thing was of the highest importance to her parents. It's how she wound up in this world alone after all. What wouldn't they do for the chance to keep everyone safe? She bit her lip in frustration. "Or save each other. Maybe you are right. I mean, my mom always claims to do the right thing, but I know she's done some questionable things at times, dad too, probably."

Ursula drew herself up to her full height, proudly demonstrating that she was not a push-over either. "See, they fear what they don't understand and they always will. That's why you need friends like us. We have magic. We've had friends and family betray us, try to use us, fear us. It hurts. But the only way to make it better is to rise above it and come out victorious. You might never make them understand you, but you don't have to ever be afraid of them."

Never be afraid? Could she really have that sort of security in her life? Most of her life had been spent in fear—fear of being alone, abandoned, fear of heartache and of loss. Who would she be if she wasn't afraid? Who _could_ she be?

Against her better judgment, Ursula's words were really starting to get to her. She felt her heart aching with the promises she was offering, even though her head was cautioning her to be wary (like it always did, and wasn't that the root of her fears anyway? Maybe she should just throw caution to the wind. It worked with Hook, it worked with Henry. Maybe it could work with her magic, too.)

"Yes, darling. Why do you waist your potential on people who are like that anyway? Why not start taking care of yourself. Ask yourself, if you didn't have anyone to be held accountable to, what would you do with your magic?"

That question stopped her cold. Emma furrowed her brow, feeling a bit scattered, but growing more confident about what she wanted. "I… I'd want to stop being afraid that everyone will leave me. I want to be able to make sure people stay when they say they will." After a moment, she added with a little bit more anger, "And that they'll never lie to me."

"Well, then, perhaps you should cross your parents off that list. Hello, Emma." A new voice rang out from the back hallway. Emma spun around to see a distinguished-looking blonde in a fedora and grey suit. The woman was leaning propped against the wall with her arms crossed and studying Emma like she was an interesting species of insect.

It made her blood boil to feel that exposed. _Wouldn't be great to wipe that condescending look off her face? Maybe see the fear in her eyes?_ A cold voice whispered in her mind.

_Where had that come from? And why was her magic already flickering at her fingertips?_

"Who the hell are you?" Emma growled, forcing her magic back before she blasted a complete stranger for no reason other than she was looking at her strangely.

The blonde smiled, her lips perfectly red, but her eyes a cold blue. "My name is Maleficent. I believe we've met before." She paused to let her introduction sink in, buy Emma had already half-way guessed the woman's identity.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I killed you once. It was rather easy, as I recall," Emma sneered.

The woman shrugged off being ran through with a sword like it was no big deal and continued on pleasantly, much to Emma's surprise. "But that's all water under the bridge now. I came here today to thank you. Rumpelstiltskin put me in that horrible hat, and if it hadn't been for you, I'd still be there. So I owe you."

Shocked, Emma frowned at her, her irritation draining away. "Don't worry about it. What did you mean about my parents, though?"

A knowing smirk played about Maleficent's lips. She waved one hand in the air with a nonchalant motion. "Your parents are not the bastions of goodness they profess to be. Far from it. And they have been lying to you about that for a very long time."

Emma could feel her anger rising. _Who the hell did this lady think she was?_ "My parents don't lie to me."

That cold voice that sounded an awful lot like her own responded with ' _Are you sure about that?'_

Maleficent stepped closer, tilting up her chin so that she could look Emma in the eye. She raised a brow in challenge and lowered her voice. "Don't they? Emma, all parents lie to their children, you just didn't get to experience that at an early age like the rest of us. But I am referring to something else. Something they did to an innocent. Something evil and cruel." Her voice caught ever so slightly on the last word, and her eyes were shiny with the emotions she was trying to conceal.

"What are you talking about?" Emma demanded, and despite her earlier anger, found herself feeling curious about what Maleficent was hinting at, and even a bit sorry for her. _Could her parents have hidden something from her? Would they do that to her? Oh, god. They had been acting sort of strange lately. What if it was true?_

Emma stared at Maleficent trying to see the truth in her eyes. And when she spoke, Emma felt her whole world crash apart and burn to the ground with the utter sense of devastation her words wrought. "They stole my child from me," Maleficent stated simply. "They traded her away her soul for the chance to ensure that you would never be evil. They were so afraid of you, even before you were born, that they committed an act of utmost villainy to keep you 'good'."

"No…I… I don't believe you," Emma said trying with every ounce of her control not to cry, not to let them see her weakness and doubt. Maybe she owed her parents that much. But her hands itched and burned with sparks of unruly magic, and her heart felt utterly desolate.

She had thought she would never feel this way again, this empty, lost feeling. It was so much like all those other times she had been betrayed – Ingrid and the car, Neal and the watches, Walsh and his lies -but only this time, it was so much worse because this was her _parents_. Her parents who she had given her complete trust to, had believed in, had tried so hard for. And now they had broken that trust.

_Broken her._

Maleficent merely shook her head sadly, like she understood just what Emma was feeling. "Yes you do. Unlike them, I have no reason to lie to you. Unlike them, I was _never_ afraid of my child." She finally stepped away, collapsing against the fireplace hearth before turning back towards Emma. "I wasn't always this way, you know. Once, I was a benevolent fairy. I granted wishes, I helped people. I tried to help them. And they betrayed me! They traded my daughter's essence, her magic, for your own. And after, I told them that I would still love my daughter, no matter what her magic was like, and they said they couldn't take the chance of releasing that sort of evil upon the world. So they sent her away, and I've never been able to find her." The truth of every word stung Emma, just like she had been stabbed repeatedly in her chest. There was no denying the truth when she could so clearly see the eyes of a mother who had lost _everything_ staring back at her. She had those eyes once. Sometimes, she still did.

"I am so sorry," Emma choked out, her voice ragged and raw. "What…. Is there anything I can do?" Her heart wasn't really in it, but Maleficent didn't seem bothered. Normally, this was exactly what her job as Savior demanded of her. That was who her parents had made her after. The Savior. The one to bring back the happy endings. But today, she just didn't have it in her to play that role anymore. All she could see was red hot fire. Rage like she had never felt before bubbling just below the surface.

The only thing stopping her was a small, plaintive voice struggling to remind her that her parents did what they did because they cared.

 _If they really cared, they wouldn't have lied,_ that cold voice responded. It was louder now than it had ever been. _If they cared, they would have kept you. So why do you still care about them?_

"Stop pandering to them," Maleficent offered, as if hearing her thoughts. "Live your life. Be you. That is what your parents have never understood about magic. It isn't inherently good or bad. It's just power. You make the choices." She rose up before her, driving home her point with a meaningful look.

Ursula and Cruella stood up and joined her, each placing a hand upon her shoulder, like friends offering support. "And what do you choose now, Emma?" Ursula asked.

Deep in the back of her mind, that small voice was trying desperately to remind her that there were people out there who she cared about- Henry, her parents, the town, Killian—but her heart just couldn't feel the emotions she used to feel towards them. It was already too hard, too cold. All she felt was hurt and anger and a need to protect herself. After all, looking after herself was what she was best at. _And now_ , she thought, the magic in her body flickering to life in a red glow around her hands, _I have the power to make sure no one could ever hurt me that way again._

"I choose me," Emma stated.  
…

Killian chose Emma. Long ago, before he was even fully aware he had made the choice. He chose Emma. Over his revenge, over his own desires. Over everything. It had saved him from the darkness.

Like always, it had started with the best of intentions. He had followed his need to put her first, to protect her, to do whatever it took to keep her safe, and had accomplished the near impossible task of retrieving the dagger from the place he had hidden it. To save her from the crocodile and his attempts to destroy her.

Well, that was the original idea, anyway.

But now that the dagger was once more in his hand, the metal turning his skin to ice, as a low hum vibrated up his arm, his intent had changed. He had changed.

 _Killian_ might have chosen Emma, but _Hook_ … Hook chose himself.

It all came at him like a rush of adrenaline the second he had touched the cursed blade. Whether it was a result of the Emma's curse, or whether it was something to do with the blade, it mattered not. Darkness slid over him before he could even blink, before he had a chance to fight it, just like he had been waiting all along for any chance to fall back to old habits. At last, he could taste his long awaited revenge. It didn't even matter if he could remember the reasons why he wanted to kill the imp, he just felt the need to make someone pay.

It felt indescribably good to hold that cold, hefty piece of metal in his hand. With it came his old mantle, the old familiar darkness that he had dwelled in so long. Oh, how he had missed it! But this was different than the black pit of despair that he had so long lived under. Then, he had been guided by a purpose dedicated to the destruction of one man, to ease his pain and find release. Now, his darkness sought a different purpose. He wanted more.

His thoughts raced with all the power he wielded, and what he could do with that power. He wanted to hurt others, to make people cower under him, to make the world pay for all that he had suffered. And of course, all he had to do was kill one little crocodile. Why had it ever been so hard? (And if his heart was throbbing out a name, pleading with him to remember that he needed to save _her_ , then his heart was deficient and he probably should take the earliest opportunity he could to remove it.)

His plan was simple. All he had to do was find Belle. She was the crocodile's love, therefore, she was his weakness. So it was only a matter of time before that imp showed up to collect his lovely wife, especially if she was threatened. Sure, he could have summoned that demon to him at any time, but really, where was the fun in that?

Besides, he wanted his revenge to be the stuff of legends. It had been a long time coming after all.

….

It was amazing what happened when she stopped fighting and just gave in. Why had she ever been so opposed to using her magic like this? There was no more guilt, no more worries, everything just felt _right_.

And how her magic just flowed in response. Raw and angry and potent. She knew she could do anything she wanted to. Absolutely anything. It was so exhilarating to feel this free and powerful. This was the feeling she had been missing her whole life. That scared little lost girl was no more. Now she was…invincible.

Why had she tried to deny who she really was for so long? She was Emma. She _was_ power. She _was_ magic. No one could stop her.

"Alright there, darling?" Cruella asked, her and the other two witches joining her on her overlook.

She turned to her three new sisters and her face twisted into a malicious smirk. "I'm _perfect_ ," she answered.

Right over the center of town a large, black thunderhead had just started to form, its diaphanous edges spreading out like a giant clawed hand. The makings of a storm of epic proportions. Emma stood at the edge of the cliff looking down into the town. _Her_ town now. And wasn't that a wonderful concept? First she would rule Storybrooke, then who knew…maybe the rest of the world? Everyone would be her devoted servants. No one else could ever harm her again. Or they would pay.

Maleficent was the first to respond to her, the black fairies own dark magic thrumming in response to the evil pulsing in Emma's veins. "Good. Let's say we push your boundaries a little. You've been hurt by those people down there, right? That's why you came here today. So, let's say you give them a little taste of the _new and improved_ Emma Swan. Let's show them who their Savior really is."

…..

Belle looked over at Will. He was engaged in his book, halfway hidden in the shadows, but every once and a while he would look up and give her a reassuring smile. She smiled back, momentarily able to keep the worry about Killian and Rumple at bay. She wasn't having much luck looking for a way to reverse a curse like that which had been inflicted upon Emma, but she wasn't ready to give up hope yet. This was her domain, where she felt strongest. Her library. Her books. All the knowledge in the world held in such seemingly harmless things. So what if she hadn't found the answers yet. There were still a lot more books she could look through. She just needed time.

Unfortunately, Belle's time had run out.

The door to the library opened with a tiny ding and the resulting pressure change caused her to look up. Belle blinked in confusion at the man standing in the doorway, the fading sunlight illuminating him from behind so that his face was indiscernible. "Killian? You've come back?"

He took two strides forward, shutting the door behind him as he went and flashed her a soft smile which seemed genuine enough. "Sorry, love. Didn't mean to disappear on you. How is the research going?"

Belle frowned, wandering if maybe Snow and David had been wrong about Killian. He seemed perfectly normal, happy even. Except for the dark looks he kept shooting Will from the corner of his eye. But they had never gotten along anyway, so she wasn't too worried. Still, she was wary of trusting the man in front of her, especially after the all-night discussion she had just come from. Will, too, had put down his book and was watching Killian just as carefully, clearly worried about what he might do.

Slipping her hand into the pocket of her skirt, Belle gripped the small potion bottle she had received from Regina as protection should Killian indeed prove violent. He watched her every movement with hawk-like precision and Belle knew she would have to throw him off his guard. She forced herself to smile brightly with just the right amount of apology in her eyes. "I'm afraid I'm not having much luck. Whatever Rumple did to Emma must be very old magic. I haven't been able to find any information on the exact nature of the curse at all."

He turned away with a curt nod, his jaw clenching. It was a gesture she had seen on him many times already and it was enough to cause her to let her guard down ever so slightly. He cleared his throat before looking back at her, all sad-eyes and furrowed brows. "Aye, well, I know you'll get there. You always do. In the meantime, though, don't you think it best if we take some sort of precautions against the crocodile's return?"

This confused her. Did he know about the meeting last night? Was this some sort of ploy to find out what she knew about Rumple's whereabouts? Or was this just genuine concern? "What do you mean?"

"The dagger. I'm assuming you still have it. Maybe it's time to use it and stop this nonsense." He crossed the room until he was standing opposite her across the check-out counter. In the corner of her eye, she could see Will standing up and creeping up behind him silently.

Belle heart seized up, pieces slotting into place in her mind. If he didn't know about the dagger, there was no way this was Killian. It made sense now, the attitude, the soft, sad looks. There was only one person who could disguise himself so perfectly. _Rumple._

She smiled back nervously, stepping around the counter and towards the door, knowing exactly what she needed to do. "Yes, of course. Why don't I get it and meet you back here—"

"No need, darling. It's right where it should be," The real Killian announced. She had been so engaged with her conversation and observation of Rumple/Killian, that she had entirely missed the opening of the door once more. There was no mistaking _this_ Killian. He was standing at the entrance with the dagger held outstretched in his hands, his blue eyes now a deep black and his mouth set in a grim sneer of triumph. Belle shuddered and clenched the potion tighter in her hand, fearing that its magic might not be enough to protect her after all. She turned to see Will looking between the two men in confusion, and she shook her head at him to warn him off trying to get between these two. Will cocked an eyebrow but nodded slowly in acknowledgement and instead began approaching her side.

Killian, or Hook now, it seemed, raised the dagger higher in the air, the last of the sunlight tracing a red glow along its edge like it was already dipped in blood. "Looking for this, Crocodile?"

The Killian in front of her shimmered briefly out of focus before morphing into Rumple. He frowned and clenched his teeth together. Suddenly, he turned back to Belle, his face, once full of love, held only anger and accusation. "You gave the dagger to him?"

Belle pulled herself up, hurt by his words. After all this time, he still clearly cared more for his magic than for her and it still stung viciously. "Yes I did. Because unlike you, he really had changed and I trusted him to do the right thing."

"Belle, how could you?" Rumple admonished.

Suddenly, she saw red. "How could you, Rumple? How dare you accuse me of trying to protect myself and my friends!" She yelled, willing herself not to let this man destroy her emotionally any longer. She turned so that she could see Will, who was still not close enough to reach out for her just yet, but who was trying nonetheless, offering her his support however he could. It made her feel a little bit stronger, and she knew that she could do this.

Hook barged in, a look of indifference on his face. Belle once again noticed his eyes were not their usual blue, and that filled her with a deep fear. "Not that I don't enjoy a good row, but let's say we take this conversation somewhere where we won't be interrupted?" He flashed the dagger and gave Rumple a pointed look. "Dark One, if you would be so kind," Hook taunted.

In a flash of smoke, the three of them suddenly disappeared from the library and appeared at the very place where they were last all together-the clock tower.

Killian laughed, a cruel sound that Belle hadn't heard from him since before he had shot her. Her heart sank. It was too late. Will had been left behind, Hook had absolute control of the Dark One, and all she had at her defense was a little bottle of magic knock-out potion and her wits.

It felt hopeless. Except… _Will wasn't here._ That meant that hopefully he had escaped and would go to get help. She clutched at the thought for all she was worth, because looking at the faces of the two mortal enemies in front of her, she was positive that no one was making it out of this unscathed.

…

Mary Margaret sighed, closing up the ancient, leather-bound manuscript, and collapsing onto the sofa in Regina's living room. Her heart was so heavy, she felt as though she could break into tears at any moment. It seemed like crying was all she had been doing lately. Crying and worrying. And damn it! She was Snow White! There had to be something more she could do. The lack of answers was the worst part. "Regina, I've looked through all of these books and there is nothing here!"

"Mom, what if we can't undo this?" Henry asked nervously from his place at the other end of the sofa, clinging to his storybook as if it were a lifeline. Snow's shoulders fell and she pulled her grandson into a quick hug.

Regina put her own book aside and scanned the faces of the remaining group. Mary Margaret looked like she had completely lost all hope, David looked worried for his wife but trying to hide it, and Henry… Her son looked defeated. It was a look he should never have. Henry was the truest believer, and if he couldn't believe in a way to help Emma, then… She had to stop this. Right now. Regally, with all the calm authority of her queenly status, Regina looked her son in the eye and declared, "No, Henry. There is always a way. You taught me that. We will find it and we will save Emma."

Surprisingly, her pep talk seemed to work. Henry nodded faintly and gave her a thankful smile. David, already looking for a reason to rally around a cause, immediately perked up. "C'mon Mary Margaret. Why don't you take a break? Granny has Neal back at the loft. Why don't you go and sit with him for a little bit. I'll keep looking."

"David—" Mary Margaret started, feeling the overwhelming need to keep looking.

But as the door to the house crashed inward with an explosive groan, they all realized that their searches were at an end. Time was up. Before she could react, Regina was thrown against a far wall, her arms and head restrained and her magic difficult to access. At the door stood a woman, one of three women whom Regina had hoped never to see again.

Cruella shrugged up her furry coat and smiled brightly to the gathered group. In a far-too-cheerful voice she said, "Hello, darlings! Sorry if we're interrupting. Thought you might like some more guests at your party. It was looking a bit dull. Really, Regina, I thought you knew how to entertain a crowd."

"Cruella? What are you doing here?" Regina spat, trying to maintain her dignity while also trying to break free from her invisible bonds. She glanced nervously at Henry who had thankfully darted to the shadows behind his grandparents. "Run out of gin at your kennel?"

"She's with us." A new voice sang out from behind.

Regina craned her head back to the door to see the silhouette of two more instantly recognizable figures. "Ursula and Maleficent. I should have guessed you three would be back together. Never were very good at doing things on your own. What do you want?" She asked with indifference.

"Oh, it's not what we want, darling. It's what _she_ wants." Cruella said with a flourish of her hand and a head tilt to the center of the room behind her.

Suddenly, Henry's voice cried out, directing her attention towards him. "M…Mom?"

Struggling to get her head to turn in the other direction, Regina was just in time to witness Emma step away from a cloud of red smoke from which she had just materialized. Mary Margaret stepped forward towards her daughter pleadingly. "Emma? What…"

"I've come to have a little chat." Emma said in a voice almost as cold as the other three sorceresses in the room. As she moved closer to where Regina was pinned, she could see all the differences in the Swan woman since the last time they had spoken. It was unsettling. And a bit too much like looking into a mirror of her at her darkest. The Evil Queen Redux.

Emma had on a silken black dress, shot-through with ribbons of blood red and burnt orange. Her hair was a wild mix of braids and curls piled haphazardly atop her head. But it was her eyes were the real difference lay. Normally, Emma was subtle in her appearance, the very definition of a natural beauty, but now, her eyes were the color of a blazing inferno.

Regina could feel the evil emanating from Emma, her own magic being both pulled towards it and repelled as if it couldn't make up its mind if it wanted to be enemies or allies. For the first time, she worried about the safety of her own life, and more importantly, the lives of the people she cared about.

As quietly as she could, Regina turned to the prince, who was only a couple feet away. "David, get Henry out of here."

Mary Margaret was still trying to approach her daughter, trying to see past the evil creature that had taken her over. She was foolishly trying to reason with it and Regina sensed that whatever had pushed Emma to this point as far beyond reason. "Emma, please honey, I know you don't want to do this. I know this is just the curse and their influence," she motioned her hand toward the three witches who were strolling into Regina's living room like they owed the place.

Regina bit down hard on her tongue to keep from snarking at them to get out of her damn house, knowing it would only exacerbate the situation.

With a cold, hateful laugh, Emma yelled, "You don't know anything!" She flicked her wrist and sent her mother flying through the air, crashing into the wall and sprawling on the ground. David moved to rush to her side, but Emma froze him in place.

Regina shot a warning look at Henry to not do anything foolish. She tried to convey to him that whatever was happening, the woman here was not his mother. Henry seemed to take the hint, and though she could see the fear and sadness in his eyes, he moved away from Emma and towards his other mother.

If Emma noticed, she let him be, as she continued talking, circling around her parents like a vulture. "How could you? You've never made me a priority. I was never first to you!" In the background, Maleficent, Ursula, and Cruella watched with her actions like she was their entertainment, like her darkness was a sport.

"That is not true!" Mary Margaret cried with more defiance than Regina would have given her credit for, pulling herself up to her knees. There was a small bruise on her cheek where she had hit the ground, and by the way her body moved, it seemed as if she had broken her arm as well. "You are always our priority. You are our daughter!"

Emma raised her voice, the building shaking with the force of it. "Oh really? Why did you send me away? Why didn't you come and find me in New York? Why were you so _desperate_ to have another child?" The silence following her words hung in the air, as Mary Margaret and David tried to defend themselves. Suddenly, the air outside was disturbed by a cacophonous roar of magical thunder and for the first time, Regina noticed just how unnaturally dark it was outside. Whatever was happening here was clearly affecting the town as well.

"And why did you trade my magic for someone else's?" She said with so much raw anger and venom that Mary Margaret flinched.

It had become a showdown between mother and child. Emma was solely fixed on Snow, while Regina, David, and Henry were all but forgotten. Regina knew she would have to act quickly. Catching David's eye, she motioned to the three other witches and gestured with her eyes and head that he should take care of them if he got the chance. He nodded at her so slightly, no one else could have noticed.

Then, Regina looked over to Henry who wore an agonized expression as he watched Emma vent at Mary Margaret. Her heart ached so badly for him, but she knew out of everyone in the room, he was the least likely to be harmed. He turned to look at her and she smiled grimly before she shot him a pointed look at the door to a room where all her magic potions were hidden. She knew her son knew the items in the room well enough to be able to retrieve a suitable one for David and him to use. It was part of their discussions last night after all. And when Henry's brown, tear-filled eyes met hers they were filled with determination and understanding.

Now all she needed to do was keep Emma occupied—the hard way.

"Emma… those were the hardest decisions we've ever had to make. And every time, all we wanted was to give you the happiness you deserve." Mary Margaret explained. Her voice had lost some of the pleading quality as she was quickly starting to realize that this Emma was not really her daughter any longer. But it was obvious that it went against everything she believed in not to try and reason with her.

Emma leaned forward, chuckling into her mother's face. "The happiness that comes from being a hero? And how did you give that to me? By taking someone's soul? Great example on how to be a hero. Really, a bang up job you did there, Mary Margaret." Her smile turned into a cruel smirk as she flicked her hand towards her mother's chest. "But you know what, it's fine. I don't need you for my happiness any more. Really, I never did. I have all I need."

Regina jumped in, both feet first. "And what's that? Those three stooges? You really think they're your friends? They are just going to use you and leave. Trust me, I know." Emma looked up, chancing a look back at the three women who she had come here with. They hadn't heard what Regina had said, far too absorbed in what Emma was doing with her mother. All three of them wore the same hungry expression, like they just couldn't wait for her to finally do the deed she knew Emma had come to do.

Emma shot them a quick look, and grinned cruelly. "It's a good thing I wasn't talking about them," she answered the former Queen. Suddenly, she raised a hand in the air and Cruella flew into a nearby wall hard enough to shatter bone and leave a large hole. The other two witches stared at Emma in shock and tried to defend themselves.

"We were helping you," Maleficent sneered, raising her hand up to defend herself magically. But her magic seemed blocked somehow, and she blinked in confusion and fear.

"Yeah, well, thanks, but I can take care of myself. Besides, it's not like you weren't planning on betraying me." Emma flung out her hand and Maleficent was engulfed in a heavy cloud of red smoke which began choking the life from her. She then turned to Ursula and tilted her head. "Isn't that right?"

"We were your friends," Ursula replied, her well-hidden tentacles sneaking out and trying to attack.

"I don't need friends," Emma stated and her eyes darkened even farther until they were little more than blood-red embers. "I've never needed friends." She dodged an attempt by Ursula to strangle her and caught the tentacle with one hand. At her touch, the limb turned ashen white and began to dry up and crack, spreading upwards towards the woman, who was gritting her teeth and struggling to pull away.

Before anyone could blink, Ursula gave out an agonized scream as she turned to ash and was gone.

Mary Margaret let out a little whimper and David used Emma's distraction to rush to her side, pulling her tenderly towards him in a familiar embrace. If this was to be the way it ended for them, they would go together.

Regina had to stop this madness before it went any farther. "And what are you going to do now, Emma? Hurt your parents? Destroy the town? Take over the world?"

Emma chuckled and shrugged. "Maybe. That's what villain's do, isn't it? So let's just say that I have big plans." Her eyes flamed again with sinister glee.

With an internal sigh of relief, Regina noticed that Henry had made it out of the room while Emma was talking and she could only hope he had run for safety. "And what of our son? Where does he fit in with your _plans_?"

"Our son…" Emma said slowly, as if the words tasted badly on her tongue. "I think that might have to change."

They had gone down this path before in various ways. Really, she shouldn't be surprised by now. With an eye roll, Regina asked, "How? By killing me? I think we've been over this before. It won't work. He'll hate you, remember."

"Oh, well…" she huffed a sigh and shot her back her own eye roll. "It's not like it will matter when I erase his memories and we leave this town."

"Mom—" Henry gasped, now suddenly standing at the door to the potions room, his eyes large and scared and darting quickly between his two mothers.

Emma didn't even turn in his direction, her heart was hardened off to his feelings. Regina could tell that all that all Henry meant to Emma right now was that he was her possession. There was a very real possibility that he could get hurt. Regina couldn't let that happen. So, she grit her teeth and said, "I won't let you."

Emma flat out laughed in her face. "You know, Henry," Emma called out over her shoulder, "I could turn back time for you. Make you a baby and raise you up all by myself. Just you and me and Hook. A real family after all."

Regina frowned at her words, but was genuinely curious about how she had included Hook into her new life. Apparently, their bond still stood. Yet, what could she do with that information? "So you and the pirate are just going to ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after? Are you sure he feels the same way as you?"

This seemed to be the right tactic to throw her because for the first time, Emma looked at her with genuine emotion. "Hook and I understand each other. He'll do whatever I ask him to do."

Using what she knew of Emma's fears and weakness against her, Regina said, "You don't seem so certain. Trouble in paradise?"

"Of course I'm sure. Hook and I are the same. We share everything," She said with confidence.

"Oh yeah? If that's true, then where is he?" Regina smirked, raising her eyebrow in queenly defiance.

"He's..." The fire in Emma's eyes flickered and for just the briefest of moments it changed back to its normal green. And then, the moment was over, but Regina knew that the key to breaking through to Emma, perhaps even breaking the curse was her connection to the pirate. Suddenly, her body straightened and her voice took on the cold menace she had adopted earlier as new resolve flooded her eyes. "He's none of your business. Now, let's get this over with so I be with my son."

"Over my dead body," Regina growled.

"That's not going to be a problem," Emma shrugged.

"No," Henry yelled desperately. "I'd never want to forget about my mom." Emma flinched ever so slightly and Regina was quick to catch it, too. It was becoming more and more obvious that somewhere in there, Emma still existed. The darkness hadn't yet consumed her completely, but it was a near thing and if she kept killing, than there would be no stopping her. Especially if Emma was to kill the people who loved her the most.

"I'd never want to go back. Please don't do this, mom," Henry begged, and Regina's heart broke for him.

But Henry's pleas could no longer touch Emma's heart, not even his tears could sway her. "Henry, it's for the best, and once it's over, you'll never know. But don't worry, I'll let you say goodbye." Her eyes darted to her mother who was still cradled in David's arms.

Regina could sense what was coming, she had known it would end this way for a while. There was only one final step before she was lost to the darkness forever.

"You know, _mom_. This is all your fault." She stalked back over to where her parents were at, looking down on them with disdain.

"Emma!" David admonished.

"Oh, it's your fault too, _dad_ ," Emma added as if she was granting him a gift, before turning back to Mary Margaret. "But really, I blame you. It was your fears that kept you from trusting me. It was that damn holier-than-thou attitude you always flaunted that made me doubt myself. Ever since I met you, I just wanted to make you proud, to live up to your standards. But the truth is, you are just as fallible as anyone else. If you had supported my choices, if you had PUT ME FIRST," Emma screamed, lighting flashing to accentuate her words, "I doubt I would feel the need to do this…" And without warning, Emma's hand darted for her mother's chest.

"No!" Regina screamed, causing Emma to hesitate slightly and glare at her. As she did so, David grabbed his shock-still wife and rushed her away, gathering Henry as he went.

"You need to stay out of this, bitch," Emma seethed, trying to turn to where her parents were.

Regina put on her best smirk, doing her best to keep Emma's attention focused on her and knowing if there was one thing that would distract Emma, it was to piss her off. From the corner of her eye, she saw David, Snow, and Henry exchanging looks, and Henry handing something off to his grandfather. _This was not going to end well._

"I don't think so, Miss Swan. This is my business. After all, it was my curse that made your parents abandon you. My need for revenge that made them so afraid of dark magic they made a terrible decision. So if you want to blame someone, you should blame me."

Emma glared as she mulled over Regina's words. "You're right. I do blame you. You took my son from me. You destroyed my life. You tried to kill me. Maybe I've been looking at this all wrong. If you hadn't been such a pain in the ass, then none of this would have happened."

"We never wanted to leave you, Emma," Mary Margaret pleaded, and Emma's focus once more shifted back to her mother.

 _Shut up, Snow, and let me handle this,_ Regina thought gruffly.

"That's right. But that still doesn't change the fact that they had to leave you because of _my_ curse," Regina said, hoping it would be enough to dissuade Emma from going after her mother again.

It wasn't. Emma had already sought out her parents and was looking at them with murderous intent in her eyes. Regina knew that look all too well. _Here goes nothing,_ she thought. Regina took a breath, gathering her thoughts. "Emma, wait! I know you don't want this, that part of you is still in there. You are a fighter Emma, so _fight_ this darkness. Because if there is one thing I know, it's that killing a parent is a terrible burden. It forever changes you and there is no way to erase that."

Emma spun on her heels, her black dress swishing gracefully and small sparks of yellow flames tendril-ling off the edges. She glared at Regina like she had done years ago when they had tangled over Henry's welfare. "You don't understand. This is me! This is who I am! I chose this and I don't care if it changes me. In fact, I'm looking forward to never going back. Now, if you are done trying to distract me, I need to finish something."

Just before she turned back, David had taken the potion Henry had given him and had snuck up behind his daughter. With practiced aim and a slight flinch at having to hurt his daughter, he threw it at her, hitting her square in the chest.

Emma's eyes flew wide open as dark purple smoke swirled around her. Regina felt her invisible bonds loosen and she collapsed from the wall in a heap. She scowled and blinked, but her entire body stood frozen in the middle of the room, unable to move or use her magic. Everyone else seemed to let out the collective breath they had all been holding.

Regaining her composure, Regina rose up shakily as Henry rushed to her side. David and Mary Margaret approached slowly, their eyes never leaving the living statue that was their daughter.

"How long will that spell last?" David asked.

Regina hugged Henry tighter and replied. "Long enough to find a way to reverse the curse."

Mary Margaret stepped out of David's arm and closer to her daughter. Her eyes were swimming with tears as she lifted a hand like she wanted to cup Emma's face, even though Emma's eyes were stilled fiery and now full of quiet, seething rage. She blinked away the tears and dropped her hand. "Regina, are you sure we can reverse it? She… she's killed three people."

At her side, Henry shuddered and Regina pulled him close. "We'll get her back, Snow. Don't you lose hope. Not now."

Snow turned to Regina, taking her hand in her own and stretching out her other hand to David so that all four of them together could form a circle. Snow looked up a Regina and gave her the tiniest smile of thanks.

And then, all hell broke loose as a blast of magic so strong it echoed across the room like a canon blasted all them apart, knocking everyone to the ground.

"I DON'T NEED ANYONE TO FIX ME!" Emma commanded, fire encircling her feet as she stalked forward. Her eyes were fixed on Regina once more, who was struggling to shield herself with her magic.

From across the room, Snow was screaming, "You can't do this Emma!"

"The hell I can't!" Emma sneered, stopping inches from the former Evil Queen's fallen form.

Emma started to turn, her eyes already seeking out her mother. Regina knew she was out of choices. Desperately, but bravely, she cried, "If you want to take a heart so badly, take mine."

"Fine," Emma remarked almost casually, as she punched her hand straight into Regina's chest. A second later, she pulled back, her palm full of a glowing red heart. Only a few patches of black could be seen swirling about and for that, at least, Regina was glad.

"Mom!" Henry screamed, and David grabbed him around the middle to keep him away. He struggled desperately to break loose, but David wouldn't let him go.

Emma bent down, so close that Regina could see the swirls of black in her fire-tinged eyes. "I just want you to know before I kill you, that you have achieved nothing. You talk about being evil, but what kind of a villain are you? You were weak, useless. All of your plans failed. I'm a better at magic than you could ever hope to be. And I will be a better mother as well." With that, she began to squeeze.

"I'm not a villain. I'm a hero," Regina replied. Emma squeezed again and Regina tried not to cry out, trying to spare Henry that at least, but the pain was too great. And then, just when she was sure her life was over, the pain just stopped.

"Snow? Dave? Mate?" A new, unfamiliar voice rang out.

"What the hell?" Emma said, almost sounding like her old self for a second, the heart momentarily forgotten in light of the new player on the board.

Will Scarlett stood in the open doorway, a confused expression on his face. "Um, sorry to interrupt."

Instantly, Emma reeled on him, poofing up next to him a second later. With her magic, she lifted him by the neck one-handed so that he was a full foot off the ground, legs kicking madly. Regina's heart beat on, all but forgotten in her other hand. "Give me one reason not to blast you into ash, worm!" She snapped.

With choked-out breaths, Will cried, "Cause if you do, you're boyfriend's gonna kill Gold an' become the next Dark One!"

Emma dropped Will unceremoniously onto the ground as her lips set themselves in a tight line. "Well, we can't have that, can we?" She said cryptically. She looked back into the room where her parents, son, and Regina all were gathered. With a slight wave of her hand, the room was encased in a hazy red glow. "Don't go anywhere. I just need to take care of something."

Emma turned back to Will, grabbing him by the collar, as she batted her lashes and smiled coyly. "Now, how about you tell tell where he is, so that we can make sure he doesn't do anything foolish with that dagger, hmm?"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: More Dark!Emma and Hook, Belle and Rumple, and someone pays the ultimate price...
> 
> Love to hear what you think, Comments are always appreciated.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dark!Killian, Belle, and Gold have a showdown with the dagger. And then Dark!Emma shows up and things get a bit... complicated. Who will make it out alive?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the extreme delay. I attribute it to a case of excessive finale feels. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and I promise the next one will be up soon.
> 
> Thank you to all who left Kudos and comments. You guys are awesome and ILY!

**Chapter 10**

As the last of the swirling smoke cleared, Regina, Henry, and his grandparents took stock of the aftermath from Emma’s destruction. Regina’s home was in shambles, in the corner (thankfully out of the direct line of vision) were at least two bodies, and Mary Margaret was clutching at her dislocated arm while a trickle of blood ran down her cheek. David was visibly bruised and pale, while Regina looked like she had just gone three rounds with Tyson. Not even Henry was unscathed. He wore a haunted look in his eyes that would take a long time to fade away. Seeing your mother try to kill the people you loved did that to you.

Perhaps it was because Regina didn’t have her heart that she recovered emotionally quicker than any of the others. “Well, I suppose I owe that thief my life now,” she quipped, her usual method of dealing with crisis by sarcasm and a mask of indifference falling well below par for her.

“Regina…” Mary Margaret said unsteadily, creeping slowly to where Regina was standing. “I…thank you. You saved me. You saved all of us.”

Regina wanted to wave off her gratitude, to pretend like she wasn’t affected, but when Henry’s eyes lit up for the first time in what felt like forever, she just couldn’t. “Yeah, mom. You’re a real hero. I always knew it.”

Without a word she latched her arms around her son, the fears she had shaking loose and flooding her eyes with tears.

“We’ll get your heart back, Regina. I promise,” David added, sounding like his old self for the briefest of moments.

Even Henry picked up on the small sliver of hope that was beginning to rekindle among the group. “Yeah… I mean, there’s still time, right? We can stop her?”

Regina looked around, testing the magical barrier that Emma had put in place with her own magic. Odd, but it didn’t feel as strong as it could have been. Why didn’t Emma make it stronger?

Suddenly that small spark of hope flared to life inside her. “Henry, I think you’re right. Snow, Charming, listen to me. Emma’s still in there. I saw it a couple of times when I was really pushing her. I think somehow she is still fighting despite everything she said.”

Snow frowned as David pulled her close, trembling in his arms. “How can you be certain? I mean, I wanted to believe that, too, but Emma…my daughter…when I looked at her, it was like I was looking at a stranger. And if we go up against her again, we might not be so lucky.”

Regina rolled her eyes in aggravation. “Snow, don’t. I know how hard it must have been to have Emma say those things to you. And I’m not going to pretend to know what she was talking about with the soul-swapping stuff. But trust me on this. Emma is still there. And I think she wants us to rescue her.”

David looked around the remains of the room. “How? We’re trapped here.”

Regina stuck out her hand, testing the magic barrier once more to be certain. “Yes, but that’s one of the reasons I think Emma’s not gone. She trapped us, but she didn’t make it as strong as she could have. And she knows that I can break this spell. I think she purposely held back her magic so that we can break free and escape.”

Shaking her head, Snow shrugged.   “Maybe she just wants to give us the chance to get Henry out of here.”

With another eye roll, Regina tried to get them to see her point. “Yes, but I also thinks she wants us to go after her.”

“Why?” David asked.

Regina looked to her son, who was watching the exchange with a mixture of hope and sadness in his eyes. She could see how badly he wanted to believe her, but the memory of what Emma had done was just too fresh.   Regina’s heart (well, if she had her heart) ached for him, wanting to keep that hope kindled.

“There was a moment when I was talking about Hook where the old Emma came back. I saw the very real fear in her eyes that she would be left behind again. But I don’t think it was Hook she was worried about. They share a connection, she would know if he was leaving. No, I think her fear was that we would leave her to this darkness.”

“Regina, are you certain? If we go after her like this and she’s too far gone, who knows what she might do,” Snow said hesitantly. Regina could see the fear and pain eating the woman alive and she knew she had to stop it.

“Yes, I am. And I’m willing to bet my life on it. Do you have any idea how many times she could have just killed you or me but didn’t? She was holding herself back, every time. She was playing it out, stalling, fighting the impulse with whatever she could.”

Snow took a deep breath and looked up into her husband’s eyes. Regina could see that she finally had accepted what she had been telling them. “David, I think she’s right. She never laid a hand on me when she so easily could have.   You saw how easy it was for her to kill Cruella, but she didn’t use half that force when she threw me. I only hurt my arm because of where I landed. I don’t think that was intentional.”

David met her hopeful gaze with one of his own as he hugged his wife tighter, mindful of her shoulder. “And she kept ignoring me and Henry. There was no way she couldn’t have sensed us sneaking around behind her. She’s too good. Regina, I think you’re right!”

Regina smiled to herself, watching in relief as the light came back to Henry’s face. Waving her arms in front of her, she steeled herself for what came next. “Now, I need you all to stand back. But first…Snow, let me see that arm.”

Snow unlatched herself from David and stepped closer. On her face was a soft, grateful look. As Regina’s hands glowed with magic, she added softly, “Regina, if I don’t get a chance to say it later… I’m really glad to have you back. Thank you.”

Shifting uncomfortably, all Regina could do was answer, “Thank me after we get your daughter back.” Then, she turned to her son, pride welling up in the area of her chest that was normally occupied. “Ready?”

Henry looked up to her with a beaming smile, then back to his grandparents, before pumping his fist in the air. “Yes! Operation Lighthouse is back on track.”

………………..

The storm raged on.

Except for the near constant flashes of lightning, ominous clouds blocked out all other light. The winds were strong enough to knock over signs and trees and were only getting stronger. It seemed as if the storm wanted to blow Storybrooke right off the map. At its epicenter above the clock tower, the winds were eerily still, as if waiting for the right moment to unleash hell.

Belle clutched her hands nervously and shifted her gaze back to the two men standing in the dark. Her teeth chattered, not with cold, but with fear. While she knew Rumple would never willingly harm her, and Killian was her friend, but whatever happened to him had clearly changed him completely. Even when he had tried to harm her before, she had never felt this level of darkness from him. It was like he was an empty shell of a person, filled with the blackest evil. There would be no rationalizing with him.

Rumple sighed, his expression kept carefully neutral. “Going to kill me, pirate? How original. Well, you finally have the means, might as well get it over with.”

Even in the gloom, Killian’s cruel smirk could be seen. Just a sliver of white teeth amongst the gloom. Kill you? That’s not very creative. No, I’ve waited too bloody long for this, and I’m going to savor every second.” He raised the dagger up so that the flashes of lightning sparked along the outline of the curved blade.  “Let’s just say that I’ve something far more satisfying for me than just your death.”

Rumple showed nothing outwardly, but Belle was well schooled in his expressions. And whether he would admit it or not, right now, Rumple was terrified.

Killian chuckled to himself and wet his lips, studying the Dark One and his love like he was internally mapping out the many possible ways for them to die. Belle had never seen a person so void of human emotion, so dead behind the eyes. What was this curse? How could it affect a person so much? And what about Emma? If this was what Killian was like, how bad was she?  

“See, I know how much you care about the lovely Belle there. I know how much you yearn for her, how you would do anything to keep her safe. I feel the same way about those I love,” Killian remarked, but something about his tone struck Belle as off. Almost as if it were merely a fact and not his real reason for his actions. Never had she heard someone speak so coldly of love.

Licking his lips again, his sneer curled upward while his gaze narrowed. “You knew that well,” he accused, pointing the dagger at Rumple’s chest. Belle’s breath caught in her throat. Was this it? The moment she would be forced to watch him die? Could she throw the potion and knock him out in time? Killian continued on, “And yet, it didn’t stop you, did it Crocodile? First Milah, then Emma. And while I bear the lass no ill will, I’m afraid you’ve unwillingly made her a pawn in our little game here,” he added with a very pointed glance at her.

Belle turned from Killian to see the horror seep into Rumple’s eyes, all of his usual bravado gone. She tried to hold back the tears that were on the cusp of falling, but knowing that she was in more danger than she had previously believed because of her love’s actions made her both sad and angry.

Killian hefted the dagger and twirled it back and forth in his palm. “You see, people like us shouldn’t get attached. It never turns out well. We only end up hurting those we love.”

“People like us?” Rumple spat, his mask snapping back into place with surprising ease.

Taking a step closer, Killian sneered at him. “Aye, us. You know, the _villains_.”

“I may be a villain, pirate, but I have never claimed to be otherwise,” Rumple seethed.

Killian laughed at that. “Indeed. Yet I see now that we are more alike than I cared to admit. We both tried to become something we were never meant to be because of love.” Killian shook his head, the action feeling overtly acted. “I see how wrong I was now. You’ve reminded me of who I truly am. So, before I kill you, I would like to give you a gift, of sort, to show my _appreciation_.”

Rumple grasped his hands and turned his head. “Gifts were never my style. I make deals. So why don’t you go ahead and just kill me, pirate,” he prompted for the second time, daring the man to take him up on the challenge.

A dark silence filled the space and only the crash of thunder dared disrupt it.

Killian ran the tip of his hook across his lip in thought, while his black eyes darted back to Belle. “It’s bad form to refuse a gift, imp. Perhaps I should teach you a lesson in manners as well,” he growled.

Rumple remained impassively still.

“No?” Killian raised a brow in question, as if waiting for an answer. “Very well,” Hook continued with an indifferent shrug. “My gift to you is this—a little something for you to hold onto while I send you to your doom.” Hook lifted the dagger, grasping it with firm purpose, his voice booming as he said, “Dark One, I command you to take the heart of your love and crush it into dust.”

Rumple’s face fell and he swayed on his feet as if fighting the urge to move forward. “No! Please! Leave Belle out of this,” he begged.

Hook sneered and stepped forward. “Just like you left Emma out of it?” He stepped back, face set. “No. Now do as you are commanded, dog.”

Rumple clenched his hands tightly, struggling not to move, not to take those last few steps that would bring him closer to Belle. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t resist the call of the dagger and his feet slowly bore him forward.   He looked up, unable to not look Belle in the eye. “Oh god, Belle, I’m so sorry. I never wanted it to happen like this. I just wanted to rewrite the stories, to get my happy ending so that I could be with you.”

Belle stepped back, inching away from him, until her back hit the wall. Escape was impossible. There was nowhere to run, and even if she could, Rumple would just use his magic to bring her back. She shook her head sadly, her whole chest aching in pain. “Rumple, you had a happy ending. But it wasn’t enough. I wasn’t enough. And now you’ve lost everything. You did this…” she tilted her head toward the dagger-wielding pirate, who sat observing their interactions with keen interest. “He is bound to Emma and now he’s absorbed her darkness. The darkness you cast upon her. This is your fault,” she declared, trying to remain brave and strong.

Rumple’s face fell with her admonishment, but just as suddenly, he whipped back around to face the pirate. “Wait…I can fix this!” He cried, waving a hand in the air, as suddenly a crystal orb glowing with black smoke appeared floating in the middle of the room. It was eerily beautiful and terrifying to look at. “See? This is the result of Emma’s curse. It is absorbing her dark magic. Destroy it and the curse will be broken.” Rumple turned to the black-eyed man who was literally holding his entire world in his hand and not for the first time, he begged with utter sincerity, “Jones, let me destroy it and I can save Emma. Please!”

The only answer he received was an ice-cold laugh, and Belle’s heart stopped. She swallowed hard, and tried not to panic.    Killian shrugged indignantly at the little man. “It no longer matters, imp. Emma and I like this darkness. And soon, I will take your power and Emma and I will rule this world together!”

Finally Belle had found her voice. “Rumple, you have to stop this! Destroy that orb!”

Circling the orb, Killian tutted quietly, “Uh, uh, uh, crocodile. Don’t even think about it. In fact, I command you not to destroy that orb. Now, stop stalling and get on with it.”

Rumple’s face crumbled. He turned to Belle with a look of absolute terror. “I’m sorry, Belle. I can’t.” And once more, he began to walk towards her, his hand reaching out against his will to the middle of Belle’s chest, the struggle clear in his eyes.

This was it. She was going to die. And at the hand of the one man she truly loved. She had one tiny possibility of stopping this madness. Slipping her hand into her pocket, she pulled out the potion and held it tightly.   Rumple saw what she was doing and his eyes lit up in hope.

Belle pulled back, checked her aim and began to throw.

Just then, lightning struck right outside the window, in a crash so loud it made her jump in fright, releasing the potion too soon. The bottle fell harmlessly to the floor, shattering the glass into a thousand tiny crystal shards, as the last of her hope stained the wooden beams.

“No,” she whispered, looking up to meet Rumple’s eyes.

With agony, he took another step closer.

“Hook!” A new voice boomed.

The dagger in Killian’s hand slumped as he turned around, and Rumple exhaled heavily, momentarily spared from his fate.

Killian smiled brightly as his one true love suddenly appeared in the middle of the room, looking more deadly and beautiful than she had ever looked before. “Emma.”

With a cold fire banking in her eyes, she returned a delicate smile at him. “You know, if anyone is to be the next Dark One, it should be me.”

Killian nodded, ready to give her anything she asked, even if it were his own heart upon a silver platter. “Of course, my love.” He took several strides forward, all the while assessing her appearance with a lust-filled gaze. “I must say, love, I whole-heartedly approve of your new wardrobe.”

She smirked at him and held out her hand for the dagger.

Unseen by either Killian or Emma, Gold used their momentary distraction to his advantage. He gave Belle one last look, trying desperately to apologize and show her that he still loved her before waving his hand and vanishing her away. No one seemed to even notice her absence, and Gold sagged in relief. If he was to die, at least Belle would be safe.

Without looking in his direction, Emma called out, “Gold. I’ve come to thank you. Because of you, I now know what I truly am capable of. Haven’t you always said that magic is power?” She stepped around the pirate, who was still staring at her exposed chest, and glided up to him.   Like a secret, she whispered in his ear, “And I want more.”

Throwing her head back, she spun once more and held out her hand, “Hook, give me the dagger now!”

Killian stepped forward obediently and held out the dagger like a child eager to please his parent. But as she reached out for it, the tips of her fingers brushed against his wrist, and all at once he jolted back from her, as a wave of emotion and memory sparked through his skin.

Suddenly, the blackness lifted from him, and he remembered it all. He remembered who Killian Jones was and what he was really doing here. Looking up at Emma as she slipped her hands around the handle of the blade, he could see just how far the curse had progressed, how deep her evil now ran. And he knew he had to stop her. To bring her back.

“Emma, no,” he said, pulling his hand and the blade away from her at the last moment. “This isn’t right. You have to fight it. You need to stop.”

Emma laughed and stepped closer, running a fingernail down his arm, sending a shudder of desire through his body. But it wasn’t right. This wasn’t Emma. “I don’t want to stop,” she cooed, her voice dripping in seduction and malice. “Give me the dagger, Hook, or I’ll be forced to take it from you, and I’d really rather not hurt you. _Yet_.” Her fingers stopped and wrapped themselves around his wrist. Painfully.

He hissed as she burned her magic into him. “Emma, please, you have to fight it!” He pleaded. “I know you can. I know a small piece of the old you is still in there.” The place where she was touching him was searing with her contact and his hand shook violently. Still, he held onto the dagger for all he was worth.

Emma sighed and shook her head, her green eyes dead and filled with amber fire. “You’re wrong. This is me.” Then her face dissolved into a frown, and she threw his arm away from her.  “I thought you were different, Hook. I thought I could trust you. But you are just like the others, always wanting me to be someone I’m not.”

Killian cradled his wrist to his chest, trying to ignore the pain. “Emma, you forget, love, we share a bond. I’m not just saying this because I want to change you. This is because I can feel it inside you. You don’t want this, not entirely. Please, Emma.”

For one blessed second, he thought she had heard him. For one second, her eyes no longer seemed so fiery and cold. For one second, she was his love.   And then, it was gone. “No!” She screamed, throwing him to the ground with her magic, and when he looked up, she had the dagger in her hand. “I’m not your Emma! I am my own, the Dark Swan, and now I will claim the Dark One’s powers for my own!”

Rounding on Rumple, who was backed against the wall of the clock tower, Emma raised the dagger high above her head. Killian knew he had only a second in which to act. And then, in the corner of his eye, he saw his salvation and knew exactly what he needed to do.

In a blink, Killian dashed across the room, plucked the orb from the air, and threw himself right in front of the Dark One just as Emma brought the dagger down to drive the blade into his chest. Only, it didn’t go through Rumple’s heart. It went through the glass orb, shattering it into pieces, before it came to an abrupt, aborted halt.

Thick, black smoke filled the air, as the dying scream of dark magic was ripped from its home.

At once, Emma’s mind felt free, like a dense cloud had been lifted and she could see the sky after an endless gloom. Outside the window, the storm that was threatening to tear apart the town ended just as suddenly as it began. Emma blinked rapidly, her mind clearing away the last of the dark impulses that had been enveloping her for so long. How had she let it go so far? How had the darkness taken root inside her without her even noticing? How--

Without warning, Emma was driven to her knees by a sharp, shooting pain. She clutched at her chest, sucking in deep breaths trying to find the oxygen. It felt as if her heart was breaking and she couldn’t understand why. And then, she looked up and saw the true result of her actions. Killian wavered on his feet, the dagger sticking out of his chest, before dropping to the ground in front of her.

Through shuddering breath and a haze of tears, she gasped out his name. “Killian?”

“Forgive me, Emma,” he gasped, a red pool spreading out from beneath him and staining the floorboards of the old tower.

“No!” Emma cried out, feeling the searing pain in her chest growing duller as her innate magic tried to protect her. The bond she had created between them was peeling back, allowing her to live should he die. She could feel it go, feel him willing it to go, like he was loosening the ropes so that he could drift away.

 _Like hell_ , she thought.

Pulling herself over to him, she pulled him to her, clutching at his arms and chest, wondering if pulling out the dagger would make the wound better or worse, or if her magic could heal him. Without noticing, she had shredded the fabric of her dress and used them to apply what pressure she could. She could hear the wails of a distant voice crying ‘No, no, no, no…” and it dawned on her that it was coming from her own mouth.

Emma looked up to see an oddly repentant-looking Gold hovering over them. “Help me!” She growled, resisting the urge to punch his face. “Do something, damn it!”

He knelt down and shook his head. “I cannot. This wound was caused by the dagger and I am prevented from using my magic.”

Emma turned to Killian who was trying to search out her hand with his. “’Salright,” he slurred, his voice barely above a whisper, as his breaths still came in ragged pants. It dawned on her that the blade must have pierced a lung, and she flinched at the clinical detachment she was using. It was a defense mechanism, a way to protect herself from feeling the pain.

But she couldn’t do that. Not now. Not to him. He deserved so much better.

“Safe now,” he whispered, his eyes slipping shut.

“NO!” She shouted, shaking his shoulders. “Don’t you dare do this to me! Killian!”

“Swan?” His eyes flashed open, looking frightened, but alert. But only for a moment. They glazed over briefly, and then refocused with purpose. “I lo—“

“Don’t!” Her whole body trembled at his words not spoken. She was not about to allow him to tell her he loved her then die. That was not how this was going to work.

Somewhere behind her there was a commotion in the room, new voices shouting her name. But she heard and saw none of it. All she could see was the light fading from his eyes and all she could hear was the dwindling beat of his heart. “Stay with me,” she begged, laying her head in the crook of his neck, his shirt dampening with her tears. “Killian, please.”

…………….                                   

It didn’t take long for Regina to break through Emma’s spell, and in a matter of minutes, they were free. Regina turned to Snow and Charming and said, “I’ll handle this. You get Henry to safety and protect the town. I’ll go after Emma.”

Snow and David exchanged a look and shook their heads. “No. She is our daughter and magic or not, we will not stand by and let her be alone in this.”

“Mom,” Henry interjected. “I want to come, too. She loves me and I know that somewhere in there, she still does. Please. I’ll be alright.”

Regina frowned, knowing that they only had minutes at most to rescue Emma. Sighing, she relented. “Together?”

Snow and Charming locked hands, pulling Henry in with them. “Together.”

Still, they had no idea where Emma actually had gone, as she had taken Will (and her heart) with her. And really, they could be anywhere. Maybe they should just run for the center of town and hope for the best.

Just then, Snow and David opened the front door and they were met with the full force of the storm over the town. It took the two of them, and Henry, just to close the door against the hurricane force winds.

“Guess we won’t be walking,” she mumbled.

Before she could do anything else, though, a cloud of purple smoke appeared before them and from it, a dazed and tear-stained Belle collapsed to the ground.

“Belle!” Snow shouted, running for her, but Belle looked around and waved her away.

“There’s no time. Emma and Killian have Rumple and the dagger in the clock tower.” She looked at Regina, her normally vibrant blue eyes subdued and terrified. “You have to save them.”

Regina only nodded, knowing there was no time to lose, and poofed all of them to the clock tower with a wave of her hand. It was time they saved the Savior.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up: The conclusion  
> Not every happy ending is what you might expect
> 
> As always, comments are appreciated.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma is back from the darkness, but Killian is dying. Is love enough to bring someone back from the dead?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gather your cinnamon-topped cocoa and a box of tissues. This one is going to hurt.

Upon arriving, the sight they were met with was the last one they expected. Emma and Gold were hovering over a black shape on the ground, difficult to make out in the limited light. Emma was crying out, as if in pain. Snow tried to rush forward, before Charming pulled her back, cautiously trying to gauge the situation.

“Emma!” Snow called out, but got no response from her daughter at all. Was Emma still evil? What was she doing?

Then Henry ran up behind them, calling out for his mother, but she never turned around, apparently too focused on whatever was in front of her. Snow held onto his shoulder, keeping him at her side just in case.

There was a stillness in the air, but the foreboding heaviness that had been hovering over the town all day seemed completely gone. David and Regina both noticed that the storm that had been about ready to wipe the town off the map had vanished just as abruptly as it had begun. Suddenly, they allowed themselves to hope. Maybe Killian had found a way to break through to Emma after all.

And then, collectively, they all seemed to realize just who was missing from the room.

“Emma?” Regina asked quietly, knowing she was the first line of defense between everyone and Emma. Especially if she was still evil.  

Suddenly, Gold looked up and caught Regina’s eye, and she read all she needed to in that look. Emma’s spell was broken, but it had come at a great price. One that was paid, not surprisingly, by Hook.   She turned to the Charmings and her son, a look of pity on her face, and told them it was over.

It took them less than a second to run forward towards Emma and Gold. As they neared, it became clear the reason why Emma wasn’t responding. Killian lay motionless on the floor, his hand clenched tightly in Emma’s and struggling to breathe.  The dagger sticking out of his chest flashed in the moonlight with each slow, shaky rise of his chest.

Beside her, Snow gasped at the sight, and pulled Henry into her side so that he might be spared the horror of what was happening. David wrapped his arms around his wife and grandson as his eyes welled up in grief.   “No,” he cried faintly.  

Angrily, Henry pushed back against them, unpinning himself from their arms. He fell down next to Killian as he struggled with a sudden rush of emotions he couldn’t quite explain. “Killian…” He asked, holding out a tentative hand to touch the pirate’s knee. “But…” he looked up at Emma, who was unresponsive in her grief, and then to his other mother. “…He can’t die. He’s Captain Hook!”

Instantly, Regina was at his side, swallowing back the rise of emotion in order to be strong for the sake of her son. She clenched her jaw and glared up in absolute rage at the man who had caused this whole mess. “Gold, you caused this whole mess. I’m well aware of your feelings towards the pirate, but look at your grandson. He’s devastated! Put aside your ego for two seconds and save the man!”

“It is not that simple,” he stated, and oddly enough sounded like he was sorry for that.  Regina didn’t trust it.

“Why the hell not?” She demanded furiously.

Henry looked from Gold to Regina, his eyes red and watery, and at that moment, she realized that her son was far closer to the pirate than anyone had ever suspected. Maybe even him. After all, Henry had never had a father growing up, his real dad was dead, and now this man who had taken him sailing, who told him crazy pirate stories, who taught him to cheat at cards, and had always put his life first was dying right in front of him.   Regina’s heart broke at the thought that her son would lose yet another father figure. She glanced over to the man in question, wondering if her magic might be strong enough to hold back death, but when she saw Killian’s face and saw the pain he was trying to hide, she knew it was a lost cause. His eyes and cheeks were already taking on a greyish hue, and each breath sounded as though it was coming from underwater, but his eyes tracked Henry’s gesture and for a moment, a small grateful smile graced his lips.  

“I’m so sorry,” Regina whispered, to the pirate with whom she shared such a complicated past, but who had done more for her son than she had ever given him credit for. His eyes flashed to hers in silent acknowledgment before once more landing on the blonde haired savior still clinging to his side.

Emma didn’t look away, but her whole body stilled at the words, as if suddenly realizing for the first time that she was no longer alone in all this. With one hand still on Killian’s knee, Henry slipped his other around his mother’s waist and she shivered violently at the touch before sagging into her son. Turning her head away from Killian for the first time, she looked only at Henry, but everyone gathered could all clearly see the anguish in her eyes and across her face.

She didn’t seem to notice her parents joining her, sliding down on Killian’s other side, also placing their hands on his arm and chest. David gave Killian a slight nod and Mary Margaret kept darting her eyes between him and her daughter, face compassionate and full of understanding.   And sliding in behind them all, a silently weeping Belle and a stoic Will knelt near the pirate’s feet.  

And just like that, they had formed this tight little circle of love and friendship, all of them needing to demonstrate to the Killian just how much he had come to mean to them in his final moments. To show him that he was not alone and that if this was to be the end of Captain Hook, they would make sure he knew that he died a beloved hero.

Emma could feel the warmth from their presence beside her, and for that she was grateful. But it didn’t stop the aching of her heart or the fear in her chest. But when she was able to tear herself away to look at her son, she was overcome with the shock of seeing everyone there just for Killian’s sake. She wondered why she had never noticed how he had not only found a place in her heart, but in theirs as well. How exactly had that happened? Emma turned back to Killian, who was now struggling to keep his eyes on her, and her grief and guilt pressed down on her.   She wasn’t ready. It was too soon. Why was there so much about Killian that she had never noticed before?

_Like how the way his eyes always followed her, no matter where she went._

_Or how his smile changed depending on her moods._

_And how his whole heart and soul just seemed to beat out her name._

She just had…never noticed.

She thought she understood what love and loss were before now. She thought she had felt all the pain she could bear with the death of Graham and Neal. But this…him…it was something horribly new. This was to be the loss that finally broke her. The one she would never recover from.

Maybe it was the remnants of the bond they shared, maybe it was something else, something more _true_ , but it felt as if she was dying right along with him. After all, he had always held her heart in his hands.

_And she fucking never noticed._

“Killian,” she whispered, as if the word was a knife in her own heart. “Just please hold on.”

He blinked, trying hard to find the strength to do as she requested. Still fighting for her sake. Always for her. She could see the fire trying to kindle itself in his eyes. But there was just nothing left for it to burn. He fixed his too blue gaze upon her and drew what was sure to be his last breaths as she clutched his hand even tighter, trying to will her own life force into him.

“Please,” she begged softly, not even caring that others were witnessing this. “I need you.” In her voice, she could hear the weight of all the agony of years of being left behind. And now she was being left all over again. She wanted to be angry at him for leaving. She wanted to throw all her walls back up and run and hide. “You told me you were a survivor. You promised me…” she demanded as her voice cracked and the tears fell. “Don’t you dare…” But this was Killian. And he deserved so much more than that.

With deliberate effort, he lifted his good hand to cup her check, his thumb stroking over the cleft in her chin in a familiar motion.   Forcing her to look at him, really look deep into his blue eyes and see the truth in his words, he said, “Emma…my love….Never doubt that…I loved you…that I will be here…” he moved his hand down to rest upon her chest, directly above her heart, as she covered his hand with her own, “…with you…always.”

Then, his eyes drifted shut, and the last remaining strength finally left him, as his hand fell slack to his side. “Killian?” She whispered, shaking his shoulder lightly, then harder and begging any god who would listen for him to just open his damn eyes. But he didn’t.   And with that, Emma finally fell apart. The well of tears she had tried so hard to contain simply couldn’t hold any more grief. Her heart simply couldn’t bear it any longer and she collapsed into him. _I love you,_ she thought as she wailed softly into his neck, her head buried and covered in a veil of her now loose blonde waves.

And just when she thought she might never crawl her way back from the pain and the heartache, she felt it. Like warmth washing over her. Like sunlight in the springtime. Like the soft kisses from him when he was trying to make her smile. Like a hug from her son, or the embrace of her parents. And for a moment, the grief lifted inexplicably and something close to a sense of peace flooded over her.

“Emma?” She heard her mother say in a quiet gasp.

She forced herself up, not daring to look into his face because she knew that if she did, if she saw his eyes flat and unfocused and bereft of life, then she would totally lose whatever this feeling was that had come over her and the control she had would be shattered. Instead, she turned to look towards her mother.

Only, there was a bright, hazy glow where her mother should be. Actually, there was a bright glow around everyone gathered. Enveloping and surrounding them in wash of magic. Of what kind, though, she had no idea.   It didn’t feel dark at all, but it did feel strange. A light magic of a most powerful kind, its source unknown.

Stealing herself away and gathering her courage, she took a breath and looked down at him. More specifically, at the place where she had accidently driven the dagger through his chest. And there, she noticed, was where the source of the magical glow seemed to stem from. The cavity and the dagger were both illuminated by a soft, white light, and from it some strange tendrils of magic were pouring out. It wasn’t quite the smoky or vaporous manifestation she had seen before. This was different, more like the consistency of water. Or blood. As she watched, it pooled out from his wound, glided across the floor, and began to wrap around everyone gathered there, like glowing silver ribbons tied around their arms and limbs, then moving onto to their waists and chests.

“Well now, dearie, I never expected this,” she heard Gold comment and whipped her head in his direction.  Until just now, she had completely forgotten about his presence. But a fierce, raw anger flared deep in her chest. _How dare he still be here! How dare he act like he gave a damn about Killian’s life! This was all his fault!_

“You need to leave,” she growled dangerously, her teeth clenched so tightly that her jaw ached.

The imp’s face fell into an oddly repentant expression, as he rocked back on his heels.   “I don’t think that’s a good idea, dearie.”

She drew herself up, reluctant to actually stop clinging to Killian’s leather coat, and hating that Gold of all people had been witness to her weakness. “You know what’s a good idea? Me punching you in the face. Repeatedly. With my gun. Why the hell are you even here? Shouldn’t you be off rejoicing in your victory? You’ve won. He’s…dead. Can’t you just be a little bit less of an asshole and leave us to mourn in peace?”

He rolled his eyes indignantly, like his actions should be obvious. “I have no intention of gloating over this particular turn of events. I am merely watching. And helping.”

Giving Gold the glare of death, she scoffed at him. “How the _hell_ are you helping? It was thanks to your ‘help’ that this whole mess happened. So I’ll say it one last time. _Leave_. Or so help me, I will tear you apart with my bare hands.”

With a great sigh, his mask dropped away briefly and she saw the flash of pain in his eyes, as he looked at the dagger in Killian’s chest. And then it was gone, his face once again unreadable. “I’m sure it hasn’t escaped your notice, Emma, that there is magic surrounding the pirate. What do you think caused that?”

“Definitely not you. This is…light magic,” she scoffed.

Gold nodded, unfazed by the dig. “Yes it is, dearie. Quite powerful light magic. Actually, the most powerful I’ve ever seen. And this magic needs an anchor.”

“Your dagger,” Emma supplied, finally understanding why he thought he was ‘helping’.

Gold nodded, but his eyes flitted over the group, taking in the way the magic was encompassing them all, and Emma tried to figure out what exactly he was playing at. She was loathe to take her eyes off him in case he tried something, but she was curious as to what the magic was doing. And he seemed to have some idea of what was happening.

The ribbon-like liquid had further wrapped itself around each of the people present. Connecting and tethering them to the dagger and the pirate.   Their faces were all strangely calm. No one seemed interested in her conversation with the Dark One, either. Gently, she nudged Henry with her elbow, but he only slowly lifted his eyes to her, gave her a gentle smile, and then returned his focus back to the source of the light.   Like all of them were. Her inner alarms should have been blaring at the zoned-out way they were acting, but there was no hint of unpleasantness on their faces. In fact, they all seemed to be in a peaceful state of wistfulness, even with a dead body right in front of them. And honestly, Emma could feel the warm bliss the light was giving off despite her own current state of despair, and it made her feel unafraid. It made her feel safe. Just like he did. Or rather, like he used to. So whatever was happening, she was grateful for it, even if it was only postponing the inevitable.

“What’s happening?” She asked, her curiosity momentarily overriding her anger, as she tilted her head up towards Gold.

His brow furrowed and it took him a moment to answer. “It’s quite difficult to explain.”

She glared at him and growled, “Try me.”

He sighed and leaned forward a bit, his face illuminated by the light in a way that made his eyes almost seem human. “At its core, this magic is simple, really. It’s love. Manifested physically. Binding and tying you all together in this shared moment. But as to what caused it, well now, dearie, that is quite the mystery.”

Love? This was the physical manifestation of love? It made sense, she supposed. No one loved as hard and fervently as Killian did. In fact, she didn’t think she had ever met anyone with a heart as big and as true as his.

And now that heart was still. It would beat no longer. That great love was lost forever. Her soul _ached_ as the reality of his death hit her all over again. She could feel a moan of despair struggling to tear loose from her chest and she fought to contain it, but it wouldn’t be contained. With all of her body trembling, she dropped her head next to his and let it come out all over again.

“Emma, shh…” And suddenly, her mother was there, despite everything that had happened between them earlier that day, despite the fact that Emma had wanted to take her heart. Her mother was there, a caring hand laid upon her shoulder, a look of concern in her eyes.

Emma sucked in air, trying to quell the onslaught of sobbing, to once more put on her brave face and pretend everything was fine. But then she saw his face, his beautiful, still face (all dark hair and marble skin and it was just so _wrong…)_ and she knew she wasn’t strong enough.   “Mom…” Emma called as her voice broke, “he’s gone. He’s gone and I never told him.”

Snow leaned over her daughter, gathering her into her arms. “Told him what?”

“After all that he’s done for me, I was still too scared to say it. Because somehow I had convinced myself that saying it would make it all too real. And now he’s gone and I’ll never be able to know, to have that opportunity to take the next step. And he…He never knew…because I never told him… _that I love him_.” And her mother held her while she collapsed into an awkward sobbing heap in her arms.

“Shh…Emma…honey, he knew… he knew….” Snow cooed softly, stroking her hand along her head. It was such a tender, soothing gesture-- _a motherly touch_ \--that it caught her off guard. Emma wiped her eyes and found herself feeling a bit stronger. For a moment, she watched the way her mother’s brow creased in concern for her, but then suddenly, the light grew so bright that her mother’s face was lost in a flood of white. When it died back down, the pain and loss Emma had been experiencing felt dim and manageable, and once more she felt as if she were wrapped in a pair of strong, warm, leather-covered arms.

“It seems, Emma, that you have done the impossible.” Gold said suddenly, startling her from her moment of revelry.

Still huddled up with her mother, Emma turned her head to Gold. Snow had gone back to her previous state of enthrallment.   “How’s that?”

“You’ve created the perfect storm, as it were, of light magic. Well, you, your captain, and everyone else here,” Gold finished with a flourish of his hand.

She tightened her jaw, while her fingers wound their way tightly into Killian’s leather coat. “What are you talking about now? Stop playing your stupid games, Gold, I am _really_ not in the mood.”

To her complete and utter surprise, Gold looked at her like he was genuinely sorry. He circled around the group, coming up next to Belle and kneeling down just behind her. He looked at Belle sadly as a strangely penitent look crossed his face. “You see, Emma _,_ much to my amazement, everybody here is pouring out love. To him, to you, and to each other. You are all bound together in that love.”

Emma stilled at his words, blinking as she looked around the gathered group. Everyone here loved Killian? But why did that surprise her? He had worked so hard in recent months, on building relationships with all of these people, mending any hurt he had caused, and trying so hard to prove that he was a man of honor. And he had always had that natural charisma and charm, making it impossible not to like him on some level. It shouldn’t surprise her, and yet it did. Probably in the same way the extreme depth of her own love for him had taken her completely by surprise.

“I know, but that doesn’t explain _this_ ,” she waved a hand, indicating the tendrils of magic in the air. “I mean, surely beloved people have died before and none of them ever had this kind of light show.”

Gold shook his head, motioning to the dagger. “You are correct. Normally, no matter how loved someone might be, it wouldn’t be enough on its own to cause this sort of magical response. But the pirate’s death was no ordinary one. It was committed by a powerful magical object and involved a great sacrifice on his part. Add that to the completely unbelievable fact that everyone here genuinely must care for that love-sick puppy and, well, you get this…”

“Magical light ribbons?” Emma snapped. “So what?”

“No, Ms. Swan,” Gold replied, looking over the group, still oddly fixated on his dagger, like he wanted to look away from it and couldn’t. For the first time, Emma wandered what it must be like for him to be tied to an inanimate object like that. To know something so easily captured could literally control you, to alter your free will. It was almost enough to make her feel sorry for him. Almost. But not today. Not when Killian lie dead by the consequence of his actions. No, today she felt more like pulling that dagger out and driving it through his skull.

Gold continued on, unaware of her inner conflict. “You get love in its purest, _truest_ form. Powerful enough to break even the curse of death.”

“Wait…what exactly are you saying?” She stuttered to halt, her mind not catching up to the conclusion her body had already drawn. Maybe it was because his words contained a hope that she wasn’t ready to herself to feel.  Because with that hope came all of her fears tumbling back one after the other. Her fingers anchored themselves into the soft leather of his coat as she tried to keep herself grounded in reality.

Gold leaned down, his face eerily illuminated in a wash of white which turned his skin to the color of his namesake. “I suppose what I am trying to say, dearie, is that the combined love of everyone here might just be enough to bring your Captain back from the dead.”

 _No! No, it wasn’t possible. Nothing can bring the dead back, not without a terrible price.   No. Killian was gone. He was gone and not coming back._ Her mind raced with the rush of anger and pain.   _Gold is lying, he has to be. Because when they leave, no one ever comes back.   No one…._

_Except him. Killian always came back._

Emma studied his face carefully, feeling her anger swell up. If this was a lie, some sort of sick, twisted game, she would flat out murder him, because right now, the possibility that what he was saying was the truth was the worst kind of torture. “Are you… are you serious? I didn’t think any magic could bring the dead back to life.”

“Like I said, even with everything I have seen, dearie, I have never seen this before. But despite my own issues with the pirate, for this kind of magic to take place, he must have made quite the impression on the people here. However, I suspect, it is mostly due to his unwavering love of you, Emma. Not to mention how much everyone here cares for you as well. And all that love is powerful stuff. Very powerful stuff indeed.”

Gold looked almost giddy now as the glow around Killian’s chest grew brighter by the second. The dagger itself was shining with its own inner glow, as if it were residing is a forge, not a chest. Emma frowned at the sight, confused by what it all could mean. But the hope was still there. And this time, she didn’t try to tamp it out. Without her knowledge, her fingers unclenched and found their way up towards his face, coming to rest nestled among the soft strands of his hair. She watched as her thumb traced their familiar path—over the stubble, following the scar, then back until he was cupped between her hands.

Her heart swelled with a burst of anticipation, as if any second now, those dark lashes would flutter and he would open his eyes and she would once again see his soul pouring out of their blue depths.

_Come on, Killian!_

Her stomach fluttered with nervous energy as the magic crescendo-ed around her.

_Soon…_

The light grew brighter, the air felt warmer than a summer day.

_Any second…_

There was a flash as the light grew to its zenith, a rush of warm wind, and then, it was over. Around her, the group was stirring, coming back from whatever mental state they had been in.  After the brightness from the magic, her eyes were taking a while to adjust to the bare hint of moonlight, but she still stared hard at Killian, waiting for any sign of life, his face clasped between her palms. Silently, she continued to will him to open his eyes.

But they remained stubbornly shut.

_No! No, I had faith, I believed. There was light and everything! It should have worked!_

“No,” she moaned softly. “It didn’t work. It didn’t work!” She cried, turning to look at Gold in a rage.

Only Gold was gone, the dagger was missing, and everyone else looked as though they were waking up from a dream.

Just not him.

“Killian, please wake up. I need you to wake up,” she begged one final time, the last bit of hope stubbornly refusing to be snuffed out. “I…I…” she stuttered, the words she needed to say just not wanting to get out. Her heart was breaking, but at last, she knew she had accepted the truth.   All of it.

He was gone. It was time to let him go. And it was time to tell him everything. She sighed deeply, her fingers running through his cold, sweat-damped locks, and cradling his stubble-rough cheek. “I’ve loved you for so long, Killian, even when I didn’t want to, I loved you. I tried so hard not to, but I couldn’t help it. You showed me what true love could be like, and I know now, that no matter how much it might hurt, I don’t want to run from it anymore.”

Emma took one last look at his face, his beautiful face, trying to etch it deeply into her memories, before leaning down and placing her lips on top of his. Then, she pressed them together and whispered, “I will always love you.”

And beneath her, Killian stirred.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: The conclusion  
> Also, sorry it took so long to update. I will try to do better for this last chapter. Thank you to everyone who has left Kudos and comments. It means so much! I'd love to know what you think!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is it, the conclusion to this story. In some ways, it was the hardest thing I've written. I apologize in advance for any glaring grammatical errors. This is pretty heavily dialogue based, and I'm not entirely sure that the conversation between Mary Margaret and Emma feels right, but overall, I'm very happy with the results. I hope you are too. And I want to thank everyone who has read and kudoed and commented, especially a big thank you to izod, for you continuously humorous comments.   
> For those who are interested, I am on tumblr under the name imapuppy79 and you are more than welcome to come talk to me there as well as here. 
> 
> And now.... the end.

_He was gone. It was time to let him go. And it was time to tell him everything. She sighed deeply, her fingers running through his cold, sweat-damped locks, and cradling his stubble-rough cheek. "I've loved you for so long, Killian, even when I didn't want to, I loved you. I tried so hard not to, but I couldn't help it. You showed me what true love could be like, and I know now, that no matter how much it might hurt, I don't want to run from it anymore."_

_Emma took one last look at his face, his beautiful face, trying to etch it deeply into her memories, before leaning down and placing her lips on top of his. Then, she pressed them together and whispered, "I will always love you."_

_And beneath her, Killian stirred._

She jerked back, blood pounding in her ears.

Had she just imagined it? Her eyes drilled holes into the darkness, trying to see if he did indeed move. It was almost too much. Almost too hard.

And then his eyes fluttered and his chest rose. And before she could even utter a surprised syllable, she heard him say, "Do you mind repeating that, darling? I didn't quite hear you."

Her cheeks flushed in sudden fury. _That arrogant, cocky son of a—_

But her lips were curling upward against her will, realizing that he was doing what he always did—trying to get her to smile so that she wouldn't feel overwhelmed by her emotions, taking a moment that was scary and _big_ and turning it around so that it was _no big deal_ instead. How had she ever gotten so lucky? What had she ever done to deserve someone like him who could read her so well, who's only thoughts were for her and her happiness? She owed him so much, she owed him the truth, but instead she heard herself bantering back, slipping into that safe, easy place he had created. "Well, they do saying hearing's the first to go when you get older. And with your advanced age…"

She was suddenly engulfed in a pair of strong arms, pulling her down into his chest, while all she could see was his eyes twinkling sapphire blue in amusement. "Swan…" he moaned, while her whole body shuddered against his, as if still not believing this wasn't just some sort of vivid hallucination, "…just shut up and kiss me again," and she eagerly complied, her mouth attacking his in a heated kiss, not even aware that they had an audience. He licked the seam of her lips, teasing her mouth open, and suckled her tongue as she pressed harder into him, forgetting about everything else but the heat he was causing inside her. A tiny moan escaped her, and he chuckled lightly in response, breaking the revelry.

Killian pulled back slightly, giving them both time to breathe, but the intensity in his eyes stole her breath anyway. She could see how much he loved her in every shade of blue, she could read every thought he possessed and for a second, she forgot all her fears, all her worries, and just melted into the warm pool of his gaze.

"Emma," he began, a fiery conviction flaring to life inside him. "I lo…Oof!" He said suddenly as a small brown-haired body barreled right into his chest, knocking the air from his lungs. "Henry? Everything alright, lad?" He said uncertainly, as the boy's arms circled him even tighter.

Their romantic moment completely overthrown, Emma pulled back from Killian so that she could see what was happening. Her son was clinging to Killian's chest, embracing him tightly, but not yet saying a word. Killian looked to her with a completely bewildered expression, just as taken aback by her son's actions as she was. Emma shrugged and watched Henry, also noticing her parent's reactions. They wore identical shocked expressions, but her mother had that 'how adorable' look in her eyes she got when things started to go in mushy sort of direction. Belle and Will had already stood up and scooted farther away, merely watching with interest. Oddly enough, Regina was the only one who didn't look surprised by Henry's attack hug. Emma looked her in the eye and whispered, "What's that about?"

Before Regina could answer, though, Henry sat up, his face now flushed red with embarrassment. "Sorry. I didn't mean to, um, interrupt," his eyes darted sheepishly towards Emma, then away.

Killian sat himself up on his elbows, his brow furrowing in confusion still. "No need to apologize, lad. 'S quite alright."

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" Henry asked, a deep thread of fear lacing his words as he stared at the now-healed place where the dagger had been.

"Nay, lad. A little scrapper such as you couldn't hurt me if you tried, though I must say, you are quite a bit stronger than I had pegged you for," Killian teased, his eyes lighting up with joy.

Henry's own eyes began to lose their haunted look as Killian smirked at him. In a quiet voice, he added sincerely, "I'm really glad you're okay, Killian."

"Aye, Henry. I knew your mother would come through. She always does." He emphasized the last bit with a wink directed at her, and her heart constricted in her chest.

She blinked backed a sudden wetness that flooded her eyes as the panic began to set in, because this time, he very nearly didn't make it. And it hadn't been her that brought him back. It had taken a magical intervention of the highest sort. And yet, he was still looking upon her with that totally awed and proud expression of his. She didn't know whether to be angry or sad or thankful or happy. All of her emotions suddenly just jumbled around and her old instincts began kicking in.

Then her son was wrapping himself around her, and the fears subsided momentarily with his warm embrace. "I'm glad you're you again, mom. I'm glad you're not evil anymore."

Her chest ached with the memories of what she had done, but here was her son, holding on, needing her reassurance that she was okay. "I am too, kid. I am too. And I am so very sorry that I was mean to you. You are never, ever an annoyance. You are perfect, kiddo. And I am so glad you're you, too."

He squeezed tighter at her words and she could feel the tension leaving his shoulders as she ran her fingers through her son's hair. Whether he admitted to it or not, he was worried that he wasn't good enough for her, and she was glad she had managed to say the right thing to set his fears to rest, even if her own would take a lot more to get over. "Thanks, mom," Henry replied, somewhat muffled in her clothing. "

She caught a glimpse of Regina watching the two of them with a cautious glance. It was then that she remembered all that Regina had done, the sacrifice she had made to keep Snow safe, to keep Henry safe. And the guilt welled up inside her again. "Um, Henry, can you give me a minute? I need to speak to Regina."

"Yeah, sure thing," Henry conceded easily, already bouncing back to his normal optimistic self. God, her kid was amazingly strong. Who the hell had he gotten that from?

Emma planted a kiss to his head and Henry hurried off, excitedly chatting with Belle and Will about something he called 'Operation Lighthouse,' and she gave Killian and her parents a slight 'just give me a minute' glance before standing up and joining Regina near the broken clock window.

"Regina," she began, with a nervous chuckle, "I guess you probably want your heart back."

Regina merely rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Why? Whatever gave you the impression that I might want it back? It's only _my heart_."

Emma groaned inwardly, but waved her hand in the air, producing Regina's brightly red heart from nothing. She held it out as an offering and the former queen stared at it for a moment before snatching it back. "Well," Regina scoffed, "At least you didn't scratch it up. Unlike my house. Which is in shambles."

"Regina," Emma sighed, "I am really, really sorry for what I did. But _you_ …you were amazing! You were the real hero today."

The other lady merely nodded and looked out over the town without a word, still clutching her own heart in her hands as if somewhat reluctant to put it back. An awkward silence filled the space as they both observed the townspeople below cleaning up after the storm. "I expect to see you first thing tomorrow to help clean up the mess you caused," was the only reply Regina gave.

Emma nodded reluctantly, knowing this was Regina's way of acknowledging that she didn't hold Emma responsible and her actions were forgiven. Sometimes, Emma and Regina were a bit too similar in that regard.

"Bright and early," Emma promised easily, and walked back to her parents, who were busy helping Killian to his feet.

She paused a moment to watch as Killian and David eyed at each other awkwardly and Killian mumbled something that required him to scratch behind his ear and then fumble with his hook. David only motioned to a purplish bruise on his cheek and gave him an unconvincing glare before he too mumbled something back and then both of them began grinning like idiots. Emma was certain there was something she had missed, but whatever that whole exchange was about, she was glad it was so easily resolved.

If only everything was so easily fixed.

She smiled uneasily at her mother and gestured that they should all probably think about getting home instead of spending the night in a drafty clock tower. Mary Margaret nodded back and touched David's arm, whispering to him. He looked over at Emma and smiled, wrapping an arm around his wife, and clapping Killian on the shoulder. Killian then glanced over to Emma before stepping aside to have a word with Henry, who had been trying to catch his attention.

Approaching her parents, Emma felt as nervous as a shamed puppy. Would they hate her for what she did? What she had said? Would they call her a monster and turn her out? What if they gave her that look again, like they did when she killed the Chernabog? The one that said she had failed them. What if…

"Emma, are you alright?" Mary Margaret asked, suddenly appearing at her side. _How had she managed to get so close without her knowledge?_

Emma looked at her mother's face and saw none of the things she had been worrying about in her eyes. She saw only genuine concern there. But things were not alright, not by a long shot. "No," she answered honestly. "I'm not. But I don't know if I can talk about it right now."

Carefully, Mary Margaret placed her hand on Emma's arm and began to run her thumb in a small circle. "That's just fine. I know there's a lot we need to talk about, but you don't have to say anything until you're ready." She gave Emma a half-smile and the green in her eyes warmed to a rich vermillion.

David came up to her next and had no such reservations about keeping his distance. He immediately threw his arms around Emma and hugged her tightly to his broad chest. Emma couldn't help but smile at the feeling of being engulfed in her father's arms. "Thanks," she mumbled.

"Emma," he replied, letting her back her free herself from his arms slowly, "you are my daughter. I love you, and I am glad you are safe. That is all that matters to me." He shoved one hand in his coat and the other his slung around his wife's shoulders, as though he hadn't a care in the world. "Are you coming back to the loft with us?" His eyes quickly flashed in Killian's direction before settling back on her.

Refusing to follow where her father's eyes lead, Emma nodded. "Yeah. I am."

"Good," he grinned, and Mary Margaret sighed at her daughter's obviousness a little too knowingly, but a relieved smile grew across her face as well.

Emma still refused to acknowledge Killian's presence, but she could sense him approaching, even from behind, the little hairs on her arms and neck standing up. He had clearly just been waiting for his chance to talk, standing apart from the group until she was ready, but she turned to go with her parents before he could interfere. Nevertheless, he caught her with a light pull on her arm with his hook. "Swan? A word?"

Her stomach tightened at his words, as the nerves she felt before returned. She pleaded with her mother silently to stay, to give her an excuse, but Snow shook her head and set her jaw. Then she gathered David up and purposefully walked away to talk to Henry and Regina, leaving Emma alone with the man whom she really didn't want to deal with right now. Damn her.

"Killian, I don't think this is a good time," she began, but his eyes filled with both sadness and an awful sense of understanding and suddenly, her guilty conscious simply wouldn't let her continue that well-worn path where she kept breaking his heart in order to save her own. Not this time. Not after everything he had done. She owed him more than that. Still, she wasn't yet brave enough for what she knew he was asking. Instead, she decided to meet him halfway. "I'm not…running away. It's just, I've hurt my parents-"

"Swan-" he began.

But she continued on, ignoring his eye roll at her, "—and there is a lot of stuff we have to work out. And I promised Regina that I'd help. And I owe Henry some time, and…"

"Swan-"

"And I damaged the town. And I just need to deal with that stuff first. But I want to talk with you. I do. I-"

He twisted her arm with his hook, bringing it up so that she swayed closer to him, rather than farther. "Emma, love, you don't have to explain."

"I…I don't?" She blinked up at him dumbly.

He grinned softly. "No, love. I understand completely. You need time to deal with all of this. And of course you need to clear the air with your parents. Besides, I have my own amends to make," his eyes darted quickly over to Belle and back, before he let out a deep sigh. It was all she could do not to wrap him in a hug and kiss him senseless. "So, when you're ready, I'll be here."

 _Damn him_ , how did he always do that? How did he always know just what to say to make her feel better? How was it possible to fall even deeper in love with him? And to think that she had almost lost that…

A violent shiver ran through her body, and he raised that stupid eyebrow of his in reaction. "Cold, love?"

"No, I'm fine," she answered automatically, while hugging her arms over her chest. He gave her a skeptical look, but didn't press the issue. "So, I'll see you later then?"

"Aye love. You know where to find me," he teased, trying to get a reaction from her.

She started to smile up at him, she _wanted_ to smile back, but she was still processing everything that had happened, and all she could offer him was a slight nod. She couldn't even look him in the eye.

It didn't seem to deter him, though. Again, sensing what she needed before she even did, he drew her close, hugging her into his warmth and placing a soft kiss to her hair. There were no words spoken between them, but as time went on, she felt herself begin to relax into the steady pressure of his arms.

As she melted, though, her fears came howling back at her. _She had almost lost this. Forever._

Swallowing hard, she pulled away, and he let her go. Unable to see that horrible pained look darkening his crystal blue eyes, she turned her head, tracking the procession of her family down the stairs. She took a step in their direction, but before she could turn to run from the rush of her emotions, she heard him, clear as day, sigh loudly and say, _"I love you too."_ Only she knew with certainty that he hadn't said it out loud, that no vocalization had come from his mouth to her ears. No, what she had heard was that same direct linking of their deepest thoughts straight from one soul to its true mate. The soul bond.

Without a choked sob, she fled from the thought, running after her family as if the devil was on her heels.

….

Her parents were busy fussing over Neal, trying to get him to sleep by the time she made it back to the loft. She had taken a brief detour down to the waterfront in order to psyche herself up for all that was to come and to try to push down any and all thoughts about Killian and what had happened between them. Henry was already passed out on the couch, a plate of half-eaten cookies and an empty mug of cocoa on the coffee table in front of him. No doubt her mother had decided that Henry needed some comfort food.

Emma sighed, but her heart warmed at the sight, and she bent down to her son, stroking the hair off his forehead. "Come on, kid. Let's get you to bed."

He grumbled a bit in his sleep and refused to budge, only drawing his legs up under his chin. A pang of nostalgia swept through her. Her son was too big to be carried to his room now. God, he was growing up so fast! Reluctantly, she covered him with the quilt from the back of the couch and he immediately snuggled into it.

She slipped her shoes off and sat down on the other side of the couch, sliding her feet up under the cushions next to his head and told herself she was just going to shut her eyes long enough for her parents to come back downstairs.

When she awoke, early morning daylight was pouring in through the windows and the smell of pancakes and maple syrup wafted over from the kitchen. The crick in her neck from sleeping on the sofa was a small price to pay when she caught sight of Henry hugging her legs like they were a pillow. Slowly, she untangled herself from him, managing to not wake him up in the process, and went to see what was happening in the kitchen.

Her mother was almost finished with the pancakes, a huge plate of them piled up on the counter already, and she was humming something sort of sad to herself. It was a bit out of character for her, but Emma supposed with what all had happened recently, a happy tune just wasn't appropriate. Emma slid into a stool and just allowed herself to watch without interrupting for a moment while she gathered her courage and thoughts while she shook the last remnants of her sleep away.

Mary Margaret was always graceful, her movements deft and sure, but something about watching her do simple tasks like making breakfast for her family, made Emma's heart ache in a way she couldn't describe. It was like, for the first time, all those horrible childhood memories seemed faded and distant, the scars smoothed over and replaced retroactively by a mother's love. In that moment, Emma knew exactly what it would have been like to have been raised by her parents, and this time, it didn't cause her pain but joy.

Finally sensing her presence, Mary Margaret spun around and smiled at her daughter. "You must have been exhausted to sleep on the couch like that. Want some coffee?" Her eyes held nothing but care and sincerity, and before she could over think it, Emma found herself running around the kitchen island and embracing her mother fiercely. "Um, I take it you like that idea…" Mary Margaret fumbled.

"I love you, mom. I love you so much and I don't tell you that nearly as much as I should," Emma replied, her emotions getting away from her before she could stop them.

"Oookay?" Mary Margaret said with a confused look. "Emma, I love you too. But if this is about what happened yesterday, you should know that we don't think any less of you or blame you in the slightest."

Emma blinked away the wetness from her eyes and took a calming breath. "No, I mean, yes, this is about that, but it's also just because you're my mom."

"Honey," Mary Margaret began, directing her to sit back down and then joining her. "You will always be my daughter. And I will always, _always_ love you. No matter what."

Emma shook her head, needing her to understand her guilt. "I tried to hurt you, mom. And if Regina wouldn't have stepped in, I would have tried to take your heart. I remember wanting to kill you."

Mary Margaret squared her shoulders, looking much more 'Snow White' than she had for a while, and pulled up Emma's head so that she could see the truth in her eyes. "Emma, listen to me," she said with deliberate emphasis. "That was not you. That was a curse. You did not do any of those things because you wanted to."

She held her mother's gaze, but it dropped when she started recalling the details of all that she had done. "But I did. A part of me did want to. I remember feeling so freaking angry about everything. And the things I said—"

"-Were completely justified," Mary Margaret cut in.

Emma's mouth dropped open. "How can you say that? I said horrible things to you!"

Her mother nodded in agreement, but her brow furrowed. "Yes you did, and somewhere inside you, you felt them to be true. And you were right. Maybe you could have worked a bit better on their delivery. I'm not sure the hostage situation was a necessity, but you were right."

She couldn't let her mother take the blame from her like that, because no matter what she believed, Emma knew that she had ultimately been responsible for letting the darkness take over her so easily. Still, it wouldn't have been that easy if there wasn't a real reason for her anger. "Mom, there were things I said that I did mean. But not all of it. I'll admit, I am still pretty pissed about the Maleficent thing. I can't believe you did that and that you lied-"

"Omitted," Mary Margaret corrected.

Emma rolled her eyes. " _-lied_ to me about that. And I'm going to need some time to work through it. But… but when I needed you most, mom, you came through. And that is what matters to me. I'm really sorry that I accused you of never putting me first, because I know that it isn't true. I know how much you've sacrificed for my sake, and that you have more responsibilities than just me, and I shouldn't put the blame for what happened on your shoulders. I'm the Savior after all, and I know what it means to have responsibilities."

"Emma," Mary Margaret sighed, swirling her hands around a kitchen towel on the counter next to her. "About you being the Savior," she drew a deep breath before she proceeded. "When you went missing, David, Regina, Belle and I all had this talk about the burden we've unknowingly been placing on you. Maybe it's time we step back and stop expecting you to be the hero all the time." She looked up trying to gauge whether her words were getting through. Emma could only wring her hands nervously, wondering where this conversation was leading. Did they think she wasn't up to being a hero? Did she let them down because she wasn't able to fight off the darkness?

Mary Margaret frowned, her face awash in regret. "You know, once you broke the curse, it feels like every time something goes wrong, it has fallen onto your shoulders to fix. And we all let it. It's time that stopped."

Emma pulled away from that, trying to guard herself from the pain of being a disappointment to her mother, and feeling a bit defensive. "You know what was the worst part of that curse? I actually enjoyed being selfish for a little bit. Not caring about the consequences of my actions. That was so hard to fight against, because I had been trying to achieve this almost impossibly high standard of self-sacrifice that I learned from you and dad."

With a guilty look on her face, Snow stumbled for how to proceed. "Oh, honey, I know that I've always seen things in terms of black and white, good and evil, with no greys in between. And I think now, that I might have been wrong. Life isn't that cut and dry sometimes. Sometimes, you do need to be a little bit flexible. Maybe it's okay to be a little selfish now and then. You should go after what you want, even if it means letting some things go."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. This was the same woman who insisted there was always a right way and a wrong way and that no matter how hard, you had to always do the right thing? But that was the problem. Snow had made mistakes before, she had taken the wrong path. And maybe it was time for her to admit that she could sometimes be wrong, too. "What about bringing back the happy endings, what about protecting the town?"

"Emma, honey, that should be _all_ of our jobs. Not just yours. Let us share your burden. You don't need to feel so responsible for everyone's happy endings. That should be their own job, even though I love how big your heart is and how much you care for people."

"So, you're saying I should just do what I want from now on and not worry about being the Savior anymore?" Emma asked in disbelief. She couldn't begin to grasp how this was the same person who had insisted all along that she was the one whose job it was to be the hero, to save people.

"No, not exactly. But I think it's time we all start working together, not just relying on one or two people to fix all our problems. And as long as you aren't hurting anybody, I don't know why you shouldn't take a little 'me' time for yourself every now and then." She seemed to contemplate this for a moment, mulling it over. "You know, I don't think I've ever asked you this, but what is your happy ending, Emma?"

Heart thundering, Emma answered her a bit too hastily. "Honestly, I have no idea."

Apparently, her mother was good at spotting liars as well. "Are you sure? I think that maybe somewhere in your heart you know that answer."

Reluctantly, Emma sighed at her mother's observation. "Okay, maybe I do. But I don't think it's even possible." She shifted uncomfortably on the stool, trying to squirm out from under her mother's scrutiny. But Mary Margaret's unflinching gaze was wearing her down. "I would just want to know that everyone I care about is safe and happy, and that I don't have to worry that something bad is going to just come and rip all that away from me," she admitted.

Her mother leaned closer, taking her daughter's hand in her own. "Oh, Emma, that is a beautiful happy ending. But I think the only reason you don't believe it's possible for you is that you're just scared. You are scared in the same way that everyone is. The future is scary, it's unknown, and you don't know what tomorrow will bring, whether there will be a new villain or a curse or a house fire or an illness. And you worry that you might lose someone you love. I have that fear. So does just about everyone. It means you're human." Emma met her mother's eye and saw nothing but love in them and she couldn't help but feel her mother had gotten to the root of her deepest fears. "Honey, losing people is a part of life. And if you don't take the time now to love them, to let them in, then you are going to wake up someday and they'll be gone anyway. Pushing people away is not the answer and you know it."

Emma snatched her hand back and crossed her arms. "Are we talking about Hook now?"

Mary Margaret shook her head, and reached out again to hold Emma's hand. "No, not just about him, but I know you love him, so why do I still see so much fear in your eyes."

Emma couldn't keep lying to her mother, not when she knew she needed to talk about this. And for some reason, it was easier with Mary Margaret than it would be with Killian. "I almost lost him," she admitted, her mouth dryly choking out the words. "I _did_ lose him. And it hurt _so damn much_."

She could see the understanding in her mother's eyes and she remembered just how much her and David had gone through. Suddenly, Emma was very glad she had decided to open up her. Mary Margaret pulled her closer, brushing her thumb across Emma's knuckles. "I know that pain, Emma. I know how it hurts. And there might come a day where you might lose him for good." Emma blanched at that thought and pulled back on instinct, but her mother's steady hand kept her rooted to the spot. "But you don't know that for certain. And you really don't know how much happiness you might have together in the meantime. I've almost lost your father, you, and your brother. And it killed me, Emma, every single time. In fact, it still does. But I decided that the fear of losing all of you wasn't going to ruin all the happiness I can have right here, right now," her voice was so strong, so sure about her words and each one hit Emma like a bullet to her chest. "Let yourself enjoy every moment you can, because the happiness now is worth any amount of pain later, I promise you."

All she could do was nod, her throat dry and her tongue too thick to talk. She knew there were tears in her eyes, but her mother pretended like she didn't notice and for that, Emma was very grateful.

After a moment, Mary Margaret took one last look at her daughter, smiled a little, and stood up, straightening her shirt as she did. "Well, I suppose now I'll just have to reheat the coffee. Nothing taste worse in this realm than cold coffee. And to think people actually put it over ice!" She busily fussed about pouring the coffee into a saucepan and heating it over the stove. "Would you like some re-heated pancakes as well?"

Thankful that the emotional weight had lifted, Emma managed a semi-coherent reply. "That's okay. I actually promised Regina I'd help her fix the damage to her house. I should probably get going."

Handing over a warmed up mug of coffee, her mother smirked and said, "Well, maybe you should try to talk her into 'magic'ing up some color in that living room of hers. You'd think the woman would have more sense than to make everything white. Maybe you could sneak in one pink pillow or something?"

"Knowing Regina, she'd probably turn me into a pink pillow for trying," Emma chuckled, sipping the coffee slowly.

"How that woman keeps her white carpet clean I will never understand," Mary Margaret mumbled to herself with a look of horror.

Emma grinned and gathered her boots from there resting place near the sofa. She made a quick check on her sleeping son. "You can send Henry over to Regina's once he wakes up, if you want."

"Will do," her mother replied. Emma slipped on her jacket and turned to go, but her mother called out, "Oh! Do you want to meet up at Granny's for supper tonight? You're welcome to bring along _whomever_."

She could hear the insinuation in her mother's voice, and Emma rolled her eyes even though Mary Margaret couldn't see it. "Sure. See you later."

…..

"Have you heard anything about Gold?" Emma asked bluntly, looking around at the now completely restored living room and sort of proud of herself for the ease in which her magic had done the job.

Regina waved her hand and a vase filled with red roses appeared in the corner. It was practically the only spot of color anywhere. With a little flick of her finger, Emma grinned and added one pink rose, buried in the back so that Regina wouldn't see it anytime soon. Regina nodded at her handiwork and circled once more about her living room.

Suddenly, she paused mid-stride and turned with a gloating look on her face. "No. But I did have a very interesting chat with Belle about your dear Captain."

Even though she was long past the point of caring that people knew she and Killian were together, there was something about Regina's tone that still rankled. "And what was that?"

With a shrug, Regina adjusted one of her sofa cushions. "Just that he spent the night profusely apologizing for what he did to her."

It was obvious that she was baiting her, but Emma was far too curious about what Killian did to care. "Oh yeah?"

"Apparently, while he was under the influence, he commanded the Dark One to crush Belle's sweet little heart."

Emma tried to keep the shocked look off her face to no avail. Regina took one look at her and grinned in triumph. Meanwhile, Emma's stomach turned sour and she felt her hands tremble. She knew he had been doing something with that dagger before she had arrived, she had just assumed he had been trying to kill the Dark One. But Belle? They were friends. How deep into the darkness must he had been for him to try to kill Belle? And how did he manage to find his way out before the curse was broken?

"That's awful," Emma replied lamely.

"Yes," Regina agreed, somewhat deflating after her triumph. She sat down in a chair at her table and crossed her ankles like the proper queen she was and studied Emma silently. "You know, nobody blames you. Or Hook," she admitted sincerely.

"Regina—" Emma began, but the furious look the woman gave her stopped her cold.

"I'm serious, Emma. I know what it means to be evil, to do evil things. And what happened to you was not your fault."

It was clear that Regina meant well, but Emma knew that her guilt wouldn't go away that easily. She shoved her hands in the back pocket of her jeans and fidgeted like a kindergartner in front of the principal. "Regina, not only did I take your heart with the intent to crush it, I _killed_ three people. And I wouldn't have stopped," she added, just to make sure the woman understood just how dark her heart had been.

Regina didn't even seemed phased, only tilting her head up and smirking. "But you did. And the people you killed were villains."

Emma frowned. "What? So it's okay that they're dead because they were bad people?"

With a drawn out sigh, Regina shook her head. "No, that's not what I meant. They made their choice to side with Gold all on their own, and they knew the consequences of that choice. They played with fire, Emma, and knowingly turned you dark. Do not, for one instant, feel guilty for what happened to them."

The tension broke around them in a wave, as Emma reflected upon what she had said. Finally, she sat down at the table next to Regina and gave her a nod. "Okay."

Donning her smug smile once more, Regina continued on. "And as for Hook. I learned something last night. Something I truly never suspected about him."

"What was that?" Emma asked curiously.

Suddenly, Regina looked bashful, like she was having a hard time with something. "Henry loves him. Like a father." She looked up and Emma could see just how much that confession pained her to admit. But then, she drew herself up and threw Emma a warning glare and a finger shake. "And I swear if you repeat this to him or to anyone I will set your hair on fire, but I think _HookwouldmakeagooddadforHenry_."

"What?" Emma gasped.

Regina rolled her eyes and crossed her arms at the same time she uncrossed her ankles. "Are you really going to make me repeat that?"

Now it was Emma's turn to be smug. "Yes. I think I am."

With a glare, Regina replied tersely and very quietly. "Fine. I think Hook— _Killian-"_ she conceded with an eye roll, "is a good man. And I think Henry needs a father. And…damn it, Emma! I'm not going to say the rest!" She had finally gave up any semblance of composure and practically jumped up out of the chair.

Emma smirked to herself, but knew she had to keep her pride in check. "You don't have to, Regina, but believe me, I was just as shocked as you about Henry's feelings."

Coming back to the table, Regina hovered nearby for a second, staring at the window. Suddenly, she slapped her hands down right in front of Emma, causing her to jump back in shock. "So what are you going to do about it? I mean, you love him, right? You're true loves now, or whatever, since he came to life after you kissed." She waved one hand about, like what she as implying was not nearly as big a deal as it was.

Backpedaling, Emma huffed out a reply. "No, that's…. Gold said what happened was due to the intervention of everyone. It took love from everybody gathered to bring him back."

"Well, I certainly don't love that pirate!" Regina shouted, looking aghast.

Emma felt as if this entire conversation was suddenly way out of her depth. Trying to reel it back into a more comfortable territory, she offered up her own half-formed hypothesis of what she had learned from Gold. "I'm not saying that. I think it was more that your heart went out to Henry, and that love transferred over to Killian through the dagger. Or something like that."

Regina scoffed at her. "Oh. Well, good. I didn't want the Captain getting the wrong idea. That man does not need a bigger ego."

"Don't think you have anything to worry about," Emma mumbled. "I'm pretty sure he knows how you feel about him. And his ego is plenty big enough," she added, flushing when she suddenly became acutely aware of how that had sounded.

Oh god, now Hook's innuendos were rubbing off on her. How had this conversation even started? Since when did Regina and her talk about their love lives? Well, they did talk about Robin. But they had never discussed her and Killian before except as a way to snark at each other. Did that make them friends? Was this Regina's way of being friendly?

Apparently it was, as the queen decided to keep pressing on. "So, back to my earlier question, what are you going to do about Henry's feelings towards Hook?"

"I don't know," Emma snapped.

Regina raised a brow and tapped her heels, staring her down. "Yes you do."

It was too much. First her mother, now Regina of all people? When would it end?

_When you admit the truth, Emma._

"Ugh. Yes I do," she sighed, dropping her head into her hands.

…..

"Swan, what a pleasant surprise!" Killian said with false cheerfulness, as he threw open the door to his room.

He was shirtless. Of course he was freaking shirtless when she finally managed to make herself come talk to him. Needless to say, it didn't help with her mood. "Can it. We need to talk," she snapped.

His beaming smile turned to a frown instantly, and his whole posture closed off to her. "Is this a 'there's another crisis and I need your help' sort of talk, or is this 'I'm ready to admit certain painful truths to you even though I don't want to' kind of a talk, love?" His brow seemed to emphasize the last point all on its own.

"Um, the latter?" She shrugged, stepping forward to come into the room.

For a moment, he acted as if he wasn't going to let her in, then he seemed to soften, as his shoulders (his naked and perfectly sculpted shoulders) slumped. "Good. Well then I suppose you'd better come in then, darling." He gestured with his hook to the interior of his bedroom and she carefully side-stepped around him and his bare torso as she entered.

As soon as the door shut behind her, she sucked in a breath, ready to launch into the speech she had been working on for the last hour while pacing nervously around the docks. "Killian…."

But it seemed he had other plans. With a firm grasp, he took her by the arm and spun her around to that she was left breathless, slightly dizzy, and staring at his immaculately formed body. "Emma. Before you say another word, let me get something off my chest."

 _But there isn't anything on your chest_ , she thought absurdly, her hand moving on its own to nestle itself into the crisp hairs covering the skin below his collar bone and above his firm, and _oh so muscular_ abs.

"Wha—" she stuttered. Suddenly, her face was being drawn up by his hook and his mouth was crashing down on hers, and her right foot was lifting off the ground, and desire flooded throughout her entire body. "Oh," she gasped, her eyes fluttering open, taking in the way his own had turned to a shade of deep midnight blue.

He nestled his hand into her hair, fingers easing the knots of tension in her neck, while he continued to trail kisses down her cheek, jaw, and shoulders. All the while, he was talking to her softly, but with fierce honesty. "Emma. I love you. I know that scares you. And I know that I almost broke my promise to you. But I can't go back to where we were before. I…" his voice cracked and it was that open vulnerability, that way he had of baring his soul to her even if it meant she was able to rip it apart if she wanted to, that made her stop and remember what she had come here to say.

She pulled his head back so that he would look at her by a gentle tug to his hair. When she was sure he was entirely focused on her words not her mouth, she steadied herself for her own honest admission. "I don't want to go back, either."

He looked completely taken aback by her words, as if her agreeing with him was the last thing he had thought possible. She absolutely hated herself for letting him doubt her feelings like that, and promised herself that no matter what, she wouldn't keep them hidden any longer. "You don't? Then why did you pull away?"

This was it. The moment she had both dreaded and desired. It was her turn to bare all of her secrets to him. To trust him with her heart, once and for all. Trembling, and no doubt cutting off the circulation in his arm by the force of her grip, she steadied herself one more time. "Killian, when you…died, I realized just how much you mean to me. I realized how much I love you. I mean, I _really_ love you. It's so much, it's terrifying. I've never felt this way about anyone before. Never. And—"

The excitement that had slowly building in his eyes since she had started her speech finally could no longer be contained. He scooped her up so in his arms so that her feet literally left the ground, where upon she began giggling like a freaking school girl while he swung her around in a circle (as much as the space in his room at Granny's would allow). "Gods, Emma. You have no idea how much I love you." He seemed to realize that he had overreacted a bit and put her back on the ground but kept his forehead connected to her own so that he could keep looking into her eyes. "I know exactly what you feel, because, believe me, it scares me, too."

Regaining her composure, she tilted her head back away from him, hoping he could see the sincerity behind the words. "Killian? I want us to be an 'us'. I want to enjoy my life, and I don't want to live in fear anymore." Her brow furrowed and she swallowed hard, but she was on a roll and didn't want to stop now. "I want…I want us to move in together, and for you to be a father to Henry. And maybe someday give him a little brother or a sister. I want a future. Here. With you."

When she was done, she took a deep breath and braced herself for his reply. When she had been rehearsing her words to him, she had envisioned his reaction going many different ways, but a mute, open-mouthed stare was not one of them.

Finally, he began to blink rapidly, his hand shaking as it searched hers out and grabbed on tightly. "Emma…I…" And then he stopped again, as if she had turned his 'on' switch to 'off'. Worried now, she rotated her palm so that she could thread her fingers through his, and tried not to think about why he was answering her. Just as it occurred to her that maybe she should try their mental connection thing to see if she could read his mind, he finally threw off his hesitance and began to smile. She noticed now that his ears had turned pink, and a slight blush had spread to his cheeks. He really was an adorably sexy bastard. "You've left me quite speechless, love." He said haltingly with a breathless quality that made her go weak in the knees. Or maybe it was her heart. Then, his smile grew until it could have out-shined the sun, and she felt her own cheeks flush with heat.

"Ooh. I've rendered the great Captain Hook speechless!" She teased, pinching him lightly in the arm. Her voice was just as breathless as his was, and it made her sound like she was flirting. Okay, maybe she was flirting. "The wicked tongue has fallen silent. Finally, I bested you at your own game," she grinned knowingly as she watched his eyes darken with lust once more.

He growled and tugged her closer to him. "Swan, if you don't get over here and kiss me, I will have to show you exactly what I can do with this wicked tongue." And then the bastard demonstrated by rolling it into his cheek in the most suggestive way possible before running it along his lips and quirking that one brow in challenge.

Emma practically ripped off his pants at that little demonstration. "Is that a promise?"

Suddenly, his whole demeanor shifted yet again, back to serious. He pulled her close to him, but the sparks in the air around them felt far more weighty than they were a moment before. "Swan," he began in that tone that meant something completely romantic and beautifully perfect and honest was about to fall from his lips, "That is only the beginning. I promise you that I will do everything in my power to give you everything you want and more for as long as you will have me. I promise to cherish and worship you like the goddess you are. I promise to protect your heart until my dying breath. And I promise that I will love you with everything that I am in this realm and the next."

She held his gaze, even though he was a teary, blurry haze to her, and she felt the last of her fears dissolve in the strength of that confession. Without a shred of doubt, she knew he would do everything in his power to keep those promises. There was glow to the air that hadn't been there before, and from the corner of her eye, she could swear she saw their hands both glowing brightly white, together.

He dipped his head down so that their foreheads touched again and she lifted her free hand up so that she could stroke the stubble on his chin and wipe away the stray tear on his cheek. "Good," she replied.

…..

Things in Storybrooke began to settle quickly. True to Regina's prediction, no one blamed either Emma or Killian for what they had done under the influence of the dark curse.

Gold was discovered in a shack in the woods a week later. He was frail and magic-less, but seemingly far less evil than he had ever been. When Belle heard the news, she rushed to his side, where he confessed that the Dark One had been vanquished for good by the miraculous manifestation of love that had also saved Killian. Unfortunately, all of his deeds had finally caught up with him and a few days later, he passed away surrounded by Belle, Henry, the Charmings, and Regina. Emma and Killian waited just outside the hospital door, but neither could bring themselves to share in the man's final moments.

Shortly after Emma's confession, she and Killian began looking for a place to live together. With Henry's input, they moved in to a small cottage near the docks, with a beautiful cobblestone walkway leading to the beach. It was love at first sight for Emma and Killian, who was entirely too enthusiastic about the whole ordeal, kept saying he would be happy living in a hovel in the woods, so long as Emma was with him (Although Emma knew he was secretly very happy that they had found a place near the water).

Henry's only complaint came when they had begun moving their stuff in that weekend.

"Can we make the extra bedroom a game room?" He asked, dumping his box of video games into the middle of the floor.

"Aye, well I suppose that would be alright, for now," he replied without thinking, while Emma's face flushed red.

Henry took one look at them and rolled his eyes. "You know, if you wanted to make it a nursery, all you had to do was say so."

Emma's cheeks flared an even brighter red, and Killian chuckled away quietly. "Henry, it's not…we're not…"

Darting his eyes back and forth between his mother and Killian, Henry's shoulders slumped sadly. "Oh."

"Wait…what?" Emma stuttered.

He shrugged, looking completely disappointed. "Never mind. It's cool. I guess it'll be nice not having to share all my stuff just yet, anyway."

In shock, Emma glared at Killian, who merely gave her a crooked grin as his eyes danced with merriment. In her mind, she heard him say, _"We wouldn't want to disappoint the boy further, aye love? Perhaps we need to speed up our plans."_

Whatever magic still bonded them together was as yet unexplained, but seeing how neither one of them was willing to give it up, they decided it was best just to go with it. Just how deep the magic went was something they had yet to test, but Emma had a suspicion that it was even deeper than the bond she had created the first time. This soul bonding felt as natural as breathing, as if their connection was always meant to be.

 _"If you think I'm just going to get pregnant because you and Henry want a baby, you can think again, mister."_ She crossed her arms and huffed. Henry stopped what he was doing and gave her a curious look. She tried to cover her mental jousting by fussing with her hair and pretending it was in her eyes.

He lost interest and returned to setting up the game console around the extra TV set. Killian immediately sat down next to him, watching his movements with rapt attention while still continuing on their conversation. _"Ah, but love. You told me you wanted another wee one, too."_

He was so much better at this whole mental-communication thing, she was starting to get annoyed. Every time she talked, she couldn't help but gesture with her hands. She was positive it made her look like she was insane. _"Yeah, in the future. Like far, far away in the future."_

He turned his head and with a slow wink, he replied, _"Well, I suppose in the meantime, practice makes perfect."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! It has been an honor and a pleasure. Please feel free to leave me feedback in whatever way you wish.  
> I am looking to publish some more stories soon, and I have promised to continue on with the "Ghost and Emma Swan" story, so if you would like to know more about upcoming project, please send me a message.
> 
> XX--drowned_dreamer

**Author's Note:**

> Hey lovelies, feel free to comment, leave a Kudo, or bookmark! Thanks for reading, updates soon!


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